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Today is e lection day.
Today and tomorrow
Editorial
Today is the culmination of months and months of speculation and speeches, ads and attack campaigns. The political climate of the 2012 campaign followed the precedent of mud slinging among candidates and, well, it got a little dirty.
Today is e lection day. Tomorrow is not. we will be done with the months and months of speculation and speeches, ads and attack campaigns. we brush ourselves off, and then what?
The issues at stake in this election have been sweeping changes for our country, and they have provoked unprecedented debate about tax policy, healthcare and the power of government in the united states.
we talked about what economic growth has meant to us in the last four years. we have talked about what a 7.8 percent unemployment rate means to us as soon-to-be college graduates. we have talked about what it means to enter the job market armed with a notre dame degree, to step into the real world where the unemployment rate for job hunters with bachelors degrees is still 3.8 percent.
economic recovery is at its strongest point since our current president took office four years ago. but that recovery came with a price — the banks and the auto industry got bailouts from the government, changing the federal government’s relationship to businesses in the process. a s we prepare to leave this university to become entrepreneurs and employees, business owners and bankers, we need to keep talking about what being part of the workforce means to us.
we’ve talked about our national debt, which has continued to climb for over a decade — and we’ve talked about two very different plans to start addressing it. a s we flip the calendar from today to tomorrow, we need to keep talking about what the role of the government means to us in the way our country’s economy operates.
we have talked about healthcare, what providing for those who are in need means to us, what the role of insurance in a free market means to us. we have talked about what our university’s federal lawsuit against the
Today’s In Focus Staff
The observer regards itself as a professional publication and strives for the highest standards of journalism at all times.
do, however, recognize that we will make mistakes. If we have made a mistake, please contact us at (574) 631-4541 so we can correct our error.
department of health and human services’ policies under the a ffordable care act. The winner of this election will dramatically impact the future of healthcare in this country, and we need to keep talking about how insurance should be provided for our fellow citizens.
we talked about these issues, and many more. but we did not talk about everything.
we voted in an election with the first candidate who took a public stance in support of gay marriage, and the issue of gay rights did not come up in a single presidential debate. not enough discourse has been devoted to the environment and climate change, which could be the most important long-term issue facing our planet.
a lthough the economy dominated the discussion in recent months, europe’s economic crisis has been largely ignored.
we touched on immigration policies and reform, but we did not talk about it in helpful ways that added to a national conversation about what it means to become a united states citizen.
In 2008, the housing market was in a state of crisis. Today, it is still struggling, but the topic that received so much attention four years ago produced little attention this time around, as neither candidate put forth a specific plan to help the slowly recovering market.
Today is e lection day. a nd in some ways, it doesn’t matter who wins. These presidential candidates subscribe to different philosophies and hail from different parties, but these conversations should still be on the table no matter what. These questions will still need to be answered, and we all still need to be in the conversation to make sure our government knows what these issues mean to us.
we need to ensure today’s conversations are tomorrow’s discussions, and that we vow to continue to work toward solutions. we need to make sure conversations that were not had in the midst of this election season do not fall to the wayside. being informed on these issues doesn’t stop being important today. Knowing who is serving in public office in your state becomes no less relevant when the ballots are turned in tonight.
Today is e lection day. Tomorrow is not. w hat does that mean to us?
In the final hours before polling places opened this morning, presidential candidates former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney, left, and President Barack Obama, right, made final appeals to voters in New Hampshire and Ohio, respectively, on Monday.
Political classes examine election coverage
b y maddIe da Ly News Writer
Voter education has long been a focal point of any election, and several notre dame professors took that a step further this semester by teaching courses on the a merican political system and this year’s campaigns.
political science professor peri a rnold teaches a course titled “presidential l eadership,” and he said he has specifically integrated the 2012 election into his material.
“we have discussed the campaign for about 30 minutes each monday of the semester,” a rnold said. “I’ve been struck by the students’ perceptiveness and objectivity in these discussions.”
From these discussions over the final stretch of the election season, a rnold said he believes his students to be alert and informed voters.
“I think the students I know through my classes are thoughtful people, and, consequently, thoughtful voters,” a rnold said.
a lthough partisan arguments are a major risk when discussing politics with intelligent and competitive notre dames students, a rnold said the conversation in his classroom every monday has stayed tame.
“There has been a complete absence of heated partisanship,” a rnold said. “we might be doing something wrong in my pols 30001, but we’ve not had a ‘hot button’ issue in the sense
that sharp words were used or heated exchanges ensued.” similarly, in a merican studies professor Josh roiland’s “Journalism and a merican democracy” class, students debating major issues have avoided serious partisan disagreements.
“we don’t necessarily debate the partisan issues — Is
“I think the students I know through my classes are thoughtful people, and, consequently, thoughtful voters.”
Peri Arnold political science professor
obama’s health care law a good thing? w hat’s the best way to fix the economy? — but rather we talk about how those issues are presented to the public via various news sources, and how the public can and does use that information to make informed decisions,” roiland said.
The course differs from a rnold’s in that roiland specifically asks his students to look at media coverage of the election rather than the content of the election itself.
“I teach the course ‘Journalism and a merican democracy’, so in our class many of the conversations have been about
the coverage of the campaign,” roiland said. “but we don’t talk about the news coverage in terms of ‘bias’ which is, unfortunately, the vocabulary so many people use when discussing the news media.”
a s a class, roiland explained, they try to avoid the severely opinionated networks.
“now, of course, many television pundits, whether they be Fox news or msnbc, certainly have opinions and share them freely — and loudly — on television,” roiland said. “but I’m talking about more traditional, so-called ‘objective’ arenas of news. we look at the way campaign coverage fits into preexisting narratives about the country, about republicans and democrats, and about popular topics, whether they be health care, the economy, or the war.”
roiland praised the in-depth coverage from the one particular online media source that has covered the election extensively this year.
“one of the most important developments that I see in this campaign has to do with nate silver’s FiveThirtyeight blog for The new york Times,” roiland said. “he’s a statistician who aggregates a large number of state polls to give a larger sense of where the candidates stand in relation to the electoral college. silver has been saying — and showing, statistically — that in fact the probability of obama winning is, as of his blog [this
past weekend], around 80 percent.” a s of monday night, silver’s forecast stood at a 92 percent chance of an obama victory.
This controversial prediction has sparked conversation in roiland’s class, especially pertaining to the reaction of conservative media outlets.
“TV pundits (especially if they are conservative) hate what silver is saying because it undermines what they are saying about romney’s chances to win,” roiland said. “a nd because so much of the journalism coverage is of the ‘horse race’ variety — that is, obama’s ahead, now romney’s ahead, etc. — silver is also rendering that style irrelevant.”
roiland’s students are able to see both sides of this argument and make a very educated vote based on the wide range of media they have studied, he said. roiland is a traveling professor and only offers these classes at notre dame this year.
“but ideally, wherever I end up, I would like to teach the ‘Journalism and a merican democracy’ class every semester because its basic question — w hat is the relationship between journalism and a merican democracy? — is always important,” roiland said. “l ooking at that relationship during an election year heightens the stakes.”
Contact Maddie Daly at mdaly6@nd.edu
students mobilize support for candidates
By ANNA BOARINI news writer
For students interested in running for public office, working on any level of campaign this election season was valuable experience.
n otre d ame senior Trent s poolstra has served on 2nd c ongressional d istrict d emocratic candidate b rendan m ullen’s campaign since the fall of 2010. s poolstra started out as a volunteer and is now an intern.
s poolstra said he decided to stay in m ishawaka this summer to work on the campaign, while taking classes at n otre d ame.
“I began working with the campaign earlier this summer … with most of our c ollege [ d emocrats] back home for the summer, I thought it would be good to keep up the presence of nd c ollege d ems helping out the m ullen campaign,” he said. “I got involved, because I really enjoy politics and I wanted to be involved with the greater s outh b end political community. I live off-campus
in m ishawaka and because of that, I not only consider myself to be a member of the n otre d ame community, but also a member of the g reater s outh b end community.”
p art of s poolstra’s job with the campaign is to go door to door, asking for votes.
“ m y job as an intern was to make phone calls to voters and persuade them to vote for m r. m ullen and I also did door-to-door campaigning where I was able to meet and connect with voters face-to-face,” he said.
The m ullen campaign is not the first campaign on which s poolstra has worked.
“[I] helped out a little bit with Joe d onnelly’s reelection campaign back in 2010 and I worked regularly for m ike h amann’s campaign for s outh b end m ayor earlier last year,” he said.
s aint m ary’s senior l ondon l amar has been a congressional volunteer, but the first campaign she has assisted on is p resident b arack o bama’s reelection
bid. “ m y involvement in the o bama campaign hit its peak when I became p resident of y oung d emocrats [at s aint m ary’s this semester]. b efore school started, I started brainstorming ways I could promote o bama’s agenda to the campus,” she said.
l amar and other s aint m ary’s students have been working to help register voters, a goal of o bama’s campaign.
“I thought it would be a great idea to register smc students to vote … Through the club’s voter registration campaign we held in s eptember, we registered about 80 students to vote,” she said. “That was a substantial number given that the school is so small.”
w hile registering voters, the c ollege d emocrats under l amar’s leadership have also held phone banks, calling voters in o hio on o bama’s behalf.
m elody a lvarado, a 2012 s aint m ary’s graduate and full-time o bama campaign volunteer got l amar and the other students involved with the phone bank project.
“ w e have hosted three phone banks for two hours this semester [and] have made over 600 calls,” she said. “a s you know, o hio is an important swing state.”
Contact Anna Boarini at aboari01@saintmarys.edu
Former U.S. Senator and Indiana governor Evan Bayh thanks workers at the Democratic headquarters in South Bend on Monday with Democratic candidates Joe Donnelly, left, and Brendan Mullen, right.
In this photo, presidential nominee Mitt Romney and wife Ann greet assembled supporters and media. Classes studied media portrayals of candidates.
BattlEground statEs
Colorado:
obama won the state’s nine electoral votes in 2008, even though colorado had voted republican in eight of the previous nine elections. This year, the state is undecided as the rocky mountain residents are wary of big government, but obama still appeals to a strong population of colorado students and hispanic voters.
Florida:
no surprise Florida and its 29 electoral vote are yet again a point of contention in this election. obama took the sunshine state in 2008, but the economy has hit the state hard with home foreclosures and financial troubles.
iowa:
In a close election, the six electoral votes in this state matter. romney has targeted obama here with heavy campaigning, and the president’s poll ratings are lower than in surrounding states. but obama won Iowa in 2008 — his first official victory in the primary four years ago — and hopes to carry the state again.
New HampsHire:
obama campaigned in new hampshire over the weekend in a final blitz, but has yet to clinch the support of the state’s voters. romney, who owns a summer house in northern new hampshire, appeals to voters who want to avoid intrusive government.
oHio:
The winner of the national election has also won the state of ohio in the last 12 elections. economic improvements of late could help obama in the buckeye state, but large portions of ohio remain more conservative. The latest polls suggest obama holds a narrow lead in the state.
VirgiNia:
a state where the gop runs deep, this state has been an unexpected battleground in 2012. a large number of government workers in the state may repeat obama’s shy win there from 2008, but the race is still too close to call.
wisCoNsiN:
Vice presidential candidate paul ryan hails from wisconsin, but obama has fought hard for the state that has been held by democrats in the last six elections.
peNNsylVaNia:
romney swung through pennsylvania this weekend in one final push for a swing state that appears to be leaning democrat yet again. obama leads in the state’s polls, but his gop challenger has not given up the fight yet.
Ne Vada:
economic downturn in the state has hurt obama significantly in nevada, but a strong appeal to latino voters has kept the president competitive against romney’s fire against his opponent here in the silver state.
NortH CaroliNa:
early voting pushed obama to a win in north carolina in 2008, and charlotte hosted the democratic national convention earlier this year. but heavy advertising and a decline in democratic spending here has given romney an edge in the final stretch before election day.
Source: The new york Times, politico
El
april 4, 2011
barack obama announces candidacy for second presidential term.
JuNe 2, 2011
mitt romney announces candidacy for presidential nomination of the republican party.
JaNuary 3, 2012
Iowa republican caucus initially declared mitt romney victory, then r ick santorum; then ron paul.
JaNuary 10, 2012
mitt romney takes new hampshire republican primary.
marCH 6, 2012
super Tuesday — romney wins six states, santorum wins three states and newt gingrich wins one state.
arril 3, 2012
barack obama won enough delegates to take the democratic nomination.
april 25, 2012
republican national committee declares mitt romney the presumptive nominee of the party.
Pittsburgh game draws massive crowds
Weekend operations run smoothly despite cold weather, numerous alcohol-related tickets and arrests
By MADDIE DALY news writer
Fans of notre dame and pittsburgh flocked to campus Friday and saturday, turning south bend into a crowded tourist destination for the fifth home game of the season.
according to the director of game day operations mike seamon, everything pertaining to the game went smoothly.
“overall it was another great home football weekend,” seamon said. “it was a welcome relief to have the weather cooperate all day and not interfere with any of the pre-game festivities or
the game itself.”
compared to previous home games, this one brought as many if not more fans to south bend because of notre dame’s exceptional football season.
“it was definitely a busy weekend as we witnessed high numbers at all of the various events on Friday and saturday,” seamon said. “The Friday tunnel tour had another big weekend with over 5,100 visitors and the pep rally had over 9,500 fans.”
The fans that came out for this game were very enthusiastic to watch their undefeated team
Coastal areas cope with storm devastation
By MEL FLANAGAN news writer
Two weeks ago, senior Katie murphy had been looking forward to spending Thanksgiving at home with her family in the waterside community of island park, n y but two weeks ago, superstorm sandy had not yet made landfall on long island, n y., flooding murphy’s home and causing damages significant enough to keep her family, who evacuated
north to the home of an aunt, out of the house for the next several months.
“if all goes well, my family expects to move back into our home by mid-February or early march. however, it could take much longer,” murphy said.
“my aunt’s house is packed, so my brother and i are stuck here for Thanksgiving. it’ll be really nice to finally see my family on christmas.”
sandy, which began as a hurricane and was downgraded to
a tropical storm before it hit land in new Jersey, barreled into the east coast on oct. 29, affecting coastal communities of several states.
over a week later, many communities are dealing with the aftermath of the storm, which often includes lack of power, destroyed buildings and homeless residents.
“we don’t have power, plumbing or clean drinking water,” murphy said of island park.
“The national guard, Fema and
Student develops application
By BRIDGET FEENEY
a ssociate saint mary’s e ditor
For senior monica murphy, saturday was noteworthy not only because of another football victory, but for also reaching a major milestone in her life with the release of an app in the iTunes store she helped write and design.
The app, called beautiful you, was launched saturday and is designed to provide girls and young woman with motivation and inspiration for their everyday lives. in the promotional video her team made, murphy
countless volunteers have been working around the clock to provide my community with bottled water, food, blankets and clean clothing.”
w hile sandy was devastating murphy’s community, junior Tom w hite’s family remained in their home and waited out the storm about 20 miles north of island park in garden city, n y his immediate family was lucky compared to the experiences of others; his home’s worst damage was due to a tree that
fell on the garage. but his extended family, who live nearby in the small beach community of breezy point, did not fare so well.
“my cousins effectively lost their home due to tremendous flooding from the storm,” he said. “rebuilding down there will be incredibly difficult but new yorkers are known for their resiliency. we will get through this no matter how strenuous the toil.”
c lub fosters wall street networking
By BEN HORVATH news writer
The n otre d ame w all s treet c lub is planning trips to n ew york, b oston and c hicago to allow current members to visit firms, connect with alumni and increase the u niversity’s presence on w all s treet.
a lthough the club is in the early stages of planning, the trips will be daily trips for small groups, and include visits to four or five financial firms in each city to form a
network for n otre d ame students.
s enior club co-president l auren b aldwin said the club wants to keep the group small in order to facilitate personal communication between group members and n otre d ame alumni working on w all s treet.
s enior s hawn c appello, another one of the club’s three co-presidents, said these trips will “take the club to the next level.”
Photo courtesy of Monica Murphy
Saint Mary’s senior Monica Murphy, right, stands pictured with Saint Mary’s sophomore and fellow app designer Meghan Roder.
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Systems & Web Administrators (574) 631-8839
Policies
swimming event were incorrectly reported as “nd 152, p urdue 148.” p urdue, in fact, won the event 152-148. The observer regrets this error.
Question
Chris
senior off-campus
“c
Claire
“c
Jason Popp junior duncan
“Jason
Marina Seminatore senior off-campus
“marina - shut The Front doorseminatore.”
Paul Mundaden senior duncan
“paul - w hat’s my namemundaden.”
Robert Blume senior off-campus
“robert - Fat robert - blume.”
Rolf’s Sports
Recreation Center
11 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Appointments are encouraged.
Film: “Citizen Kane” DeBartolo Performing
Arts Center
2 p.m.-3:59 p.m.
Free for ND students with ID.
Wednesday
“Sexuality & Catholicism” Joyce Center
7 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Speaker Dr. Terry Nelson-Johnson.
“The Servant of Two Masters” DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
7:30 p.m.-10 p.m. Goldoni’s 1743 work.
Thursday
Summer Service
Learning Program Information Session Geddes Hall
5 p.m.-6 p.m. Speak with volunteers.
Northern Lights 5K Run/Walk Fieldhouse Mall/Clarke Memorial Fountain
9 p.m.-10 p.m. $15 registration.
Friday
“We are Made of Star Stuff” Jordan Hall
7 p.m.-8 p.m.
Digital Visualization Theater show.
Sean Curran and The King’s Singers DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
7 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Singing and dance.
Saturday
Men’s Basketball vs. Evansville Purcell Pavilion
2 p.m. - 4 p.m. First regular season game.
Film: “Chicken with Plums” DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. $4 for students.
LILY KANG | The Observer
Baraka Bouts
inside the Joyce Center. The
concert raises awareness
By JILLIAN BARWICK
saint mary’s e ditor
members of the s aint m ary’s community were treated last to select songs from two different artists with personal connections to s aint m ary’s and notre d ame on Thursday.
Trent romens, whose sister, Taylor romens, is a senior at the c ollege, and p at mcKillen, a graduate of notre d ame, were welcomed to s aint m ary’s campus for a benefit concert held by the s aint m ary’s d ance m arathon.
a my Tiberi, president of d ance m arathon, thought the benefit concert got the message the committee was trying to get across to the community.
“The concert went well. we had a good turnout and i think that everyone who came to see the show really enjoyed both of the performers,” Tiberi said. “Trent and p at both tailored their sets to our audience which was really awesome.”
Tiberi said the committee was hoping for more people to be at the show, but they were by no means disappointed with the crowd.
“ you always hope for the best in terms of turnout,” she said. “Trent and p at were both awesome. b oth have an acoustic style and they
were a great way to relax on a Thursday evening for friends. it was great entertainment overall.”
Kate Kellogg, vice president of finance for d ance m arathon, said the event was a success.
“a ll of our proceeds went directly to r iley c hildren’s hospital and we raised about $200, not including any donations we received from the texting campaign,” Kellogg
“The concert went well. We had a good turnout and I think that everyone who came to see the show really enjoyed both of the performers.”
Amy Tiberi president Dance Marathon
said. “ we hope to continue with other texting campaigns in the future at other d ance m arathon events.”
Kellogg said it was a great way to spread the word about the d ance m arathon and to continue to raise awareness on campus and throughout the community.
“This is the first time we’ve done a concert in the fall and
it was a fun way to kick off our pre-registration for the marathon which is on m arch 23,” she said. “ we have had 126 students registered thus far. moving forward, we have upcoming giveback nights at local restaurants such as b etween the b uns and c hipotle later this semester.”
Tiberi said the committee is thinking “rock o ut for r iley” will continue to be an annual event for d ance m arathon as it grows in the future.
“ we have a r iley Family d inner in the noble Family d ining h all coming up on nov. 30,” she said. “r ight now, our biggest focus is building more awareness for what d ance m arathon is and recruiting dancers for our event in m arch. we have a lot of momentum building right now and we are just trying to carry it to next semester so we can keep the ball rolling. it’s really exciting to see all the potential this year has for us.”
Tiberi, Kellogg and the rest of the d ance m arathon committee will be holding a texting campaign during r iley week in February and again on the day of the marathon, m arch 23. more information will be available as the dates get closer.
Contact Jillian Barwick at jbarwi01@saintmarys.edu
a nalyst highlights persecution
By TORI ROECK news writer
christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world today, according to the international society for human r ights, which says 80 percent of all religious acts of discrimination target christians.
in his talk monday night titled “The global war on christians,” cnn’s senior vatican analyst John a llen highlighted countries experiencing heavy persecution of c hristians today and debunked myths about such conflicts while arguing that the a merican c hurch can take a bigger role in addressing these heinous acts. a llen’s address was the second keynote address of the “seed of the church” conference on christian martyrs.
“we are talking in my opinion about the most dramatic, most compelling, most urgent christian narrative of our time,” a llen said.
a llen said according to the pew Forum, persecution of christians occurs in 133 countries. according to a id to the church in need, about 150,000 christians have been killed in religious conflict each year of the 21st century.
“in the hour that we are going to be together tonight, somewhere on this planet, 11 christians are losing their lives,” a llen said. “This number is not only astonishing but obscene.”
one place a llen described as an epicenter of christian persecution is i raq. even though this region was an integral part of the early church, iraq’s christian population has shrunk from between one and a half and two million in 1991 to fewer than 450,000 today, a llen said.
“a church that took two millennia to construct has been gutted essentially in two decades,” he said.
since a merican intervention in iraq has exacerbated sectarian tensions, putting c hristians at greater risk for persecution, a llen said the a merican c hurch has an obligation to assist iraqi christians.
“given what we profess as catholics and given the
responsibility we bear as a mericans, the fact that the situation facing the c hurch in iraq is not a … top-of-the-brain concern for the catholic c hurch in the united states is nothing less than a moral scandal,” he said. “our failure to apply our last best efforts to meaningful gestures of solidarity with our brothers and sisters in i raq is quite simply inexcusable.”
a llen said most people falsely believe christian persecution can only come from regions where muslim extremism is prevalent.
“if somehow tomorrow, radical islam were to disappear, the threats to c hristians would hardly be gone,” he said. “w hat we face is a bewildering cocktail of threats.”
some threatening groups include radical h indus in india, nationalists in Turkey and even radical c hristians, a llen said. christians can also be persecuted in countries such as mexico where they are the overwhelming religious majority, he said. a nother myth about c hristian persecution is it is a political issue, a llen said.
“if we are going to take a cleareyed look at the global war on christians, we cannot try to see it through the funhouse mirror of secular politics,” he said. most of all, a llen said a mericans can support persecuted christians abroad merely by being mindful of their situation.
w hen he interviewed christian syrian refugees in l ebanon during pope benedict X vi’s visit to beirut, a llen said they all agreed on how western christians could help them.
“do you want to know the number one must popular answer by far they gave me that they said would make the most tangible and appreciable difference to them?” he said. “The answer was, ‘don’t forget about us.’ ... you and i cannot solve the problems of the world. we can’t make the violence in syria go away tomorrow, but we can try to find creative ways to broadcast the message that we have not forgotten them and that we are paying attention.”
Contact Tori Roeck at vroeck@nd.edu
in addition to flooding from the nearby water, over 100 homes in breezy point were engulfed by a fire during the storm. The result, w hite said, was a devastated town that “looks like a warzone.”
power, water and heat returned to w hite’s house over the weekend. but prior to the restoration, w hite said the lack of communication with his family has made his week difficult.
“insofar as i could not contact my family for the duration of the storm, i felt tense and nervous this past week,” he said. “i wanted nothing more than to be there with them to ride out this monster. Focusing on school this past week has been challenging because of the chaos sandy has wrought in the greater scheme of things.”
senior Jill giunco said the most difficult part of sandy has been attempting to imagine how the affected areas look. For as long as she can remember, the colts neck, n.J., native spent her summers visiting the beaches and attractions along the coast, only a short drive from her home.
“i think i will be in complete shock to go home during Thanksgiving and see all of the changes,” she said. “The shore is totally different … it’s a weird
feeling that so much of the landscape around the shore and the beaches i grew up going to will be so different.”
w hile her home did not incur any terrific damages, giunco said the basement of her house flooded during the storm, and her family remains without power.
many of her friends live on the shore, however, and the damages to their homes are much more extensive. several have lost their homes entirely, giunco said, due to either excessive flooding or fire.
“my mom was telling me about a friend in a nearby town, Freehold, whose home had a great deal of water damage,” she said. “w hen the electricity finally
of sisterhood and personal growth,” m urphy said.
said she hopes users find the app moving.
“ y our purpose is bigger than big,” she said. “ w hen you believe in yourself, you take bold steps towards the life you were meant to live. i want to help empower you so you can transform your mind and understand all the potential you have. w e hope that you will find this app to inspire you throughout your daily life.”
m urphy founded the app with sophomore m eghan r oder and the help of i ndiana s tate u niversity student c ory r ehs, whom she met through a mutual friend.
m urphy said the project has taken nearly a year to develop.
“ m y team and i spent about 11 months writing encouraging content, while c ory got to work on developing and designing the app,” m urphy said. “a developer’s fee costs $100.”
The content users purchase ranges from quotes to reflections to interactive subject matter.
“ o n this app, you will find encouragement, challenges and reflections, all to inspire you — as well as a unique interactive piece to help support you in your walk
m urphy said she is excited her dream of creating an app has been achieved.
s he said she is grateful for the opportunity this app affords her and r oder to reach women on a wider level than before.
“ m eghan and i are two ordinary college students who had an extraordinary dream,” she said. “ o ur app, b eautiful y ou, allows us the opportunity
went on for them, the damage had messed with the wiring and the entire house went up in flames.”
although flames and floods have left areas up and down the east coast in a state of disaster, murphy said the residents are what truly compose a community.
“my town will never be the same. The boardwalk and beaches were completely destroyed. i never expected to see something like this,” she said. “Fortunately, my community is extremely close and very committed to rebuilding our town.”
Contact Mel Flanagan at mflanag3@nd.edu
to impact females on a broader level. w e want to build the kingdom and felt called to team up to use the genuineness of our gifts. s o many girls and women are hungry for purpose in their lives and want to be encouraged and inspired.”
The app costs 99 cents and is now available for sale on iTunes.
Contact Bridget Feeney at bfeene01saintmarys.edu
Wall street
The club, which was founded in 2010, currently has an estimated 300 active members and 880 students on the email list, making it the largest undergraduate business-oriented club.
Three co-presidents and 9 vice presidents make up the club structure. These members communicate with the i nvestment o ffice, c areer c enter, notre dame alumni and senior mentors in order to form a network for group members.
sixty percent of members are freshman and sophomore, which baldwin said is an emphasis of the club.
“ we’re connecting freshmen and sophomores with firms they will potentially be interviewing with,” baldwin said.
c appello said the club’s rapid growth is proof of its necessary role it serves for so many students.
“The club is a long overdue resource for students,”
“These are skills I had to teach myself like other finance majors. ... This will give freshmen and sophomores important skills they need.”
Shawn Cappello
co-president Wall Street
Club
c appello said. “This allows for students to get internships and receive great support from notre dame alumni.”
baldwin said weekly club meetings are divided into two halves. The first half is devoted to teaching financial skills and the second half focuses on
paid a dverT isemen T
interview skills.
“This club helped me so much in the past two years,” baldwin said. “This is the reason i have become so involved.”
c appello said senior members of the club conduct mock interviews to help improve underclassmen’s interviewing skills.
The club also plans to introduce workshops to teach mem-
“The club is a long overdue resource for students.
... This allows for students to get internships and receive great support from Notre Dame alumni.”
Shawn Cappello co-president Wall Street Club
bers financial modeling skills, like comparable companies analysis, discounted cash flow, and lgo modeling skills, that are not taught until senior year.
“These are skills i had to teach myself like other finance majors,” baldwin said. “This will give freshmen and sophomores important skills they need.”
The club has also introduced new initiatives in order to attract non-business major members, a group that makes up 8.3% of the group.
“e xecutives want a wide array of experiences,” c appello said. “ we’ve gone to non-business related classes and let students know about the resources we have.”
c appelllo said the club will begin its speaker series in the second semester, which will include information on topics like real-estate, private equity, and hedge funds.
Contact Ben Horvath at bhorvat1@nd.edu
Trees lie fallen across parked cars in Brooklyn, N.Y., the morning after superstorm Sandy hit on Oct. 30.
Gameday
earn another win.
“The players’ walk from the stadium to the [guglielmino athletic complex] on saturday continues to be packed the entire length of the route with fans cheering on the team,” seamon said. “part of the nd band has added another element to this tradition as they play along the walk.” with the high amount of people
tailgating on campus saturday, there were several arrests by the indiana state excise police. The goal of the excise police is to prevent underage drinking at colleges across indiana.
Fifty-three tickets were given out for illegal possession of alcohol, and at least two adults received tickets for supplying alcohol to minors.
inaddition,notredamesecurity police issued eight arrests before and during the game. The reasons range from public intoxication to
underage consumption of alcohol. also, a liquor store near campus is at risk after an officer claims to have seen the salesman sell alcohol to a minor.
overall, seamon said notre dame was an electric campus full of positive energy saturday.
“it was another great weekend for notre dame,” seamon said. “[and it was] capped off by a big win against pitt.”
Contact Maddie Daly at mdaly6@nd.edu
syrian violence escalates
beiruT — new chaos engulfed syria’s civil war as palestinian supporters and opponents of the embattled regime were swept up monday in intense fighting in damascus, while rival rebel groups clashed over control of a Turkish border crossing.
The rare infighting — accompanied by car bombs, airstrikes and artillery shells that killed or maimed dozens of people — heightened fears that if syrian president bashar assad falls, the disparate factions battling the regime will turn on each other.
a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car near an army checkpoint in hama province, killing 50 soldiers in one of the deadliest single attacks targeting pro-assad troops in the 19-month uprising, according to activists. eleven civilians died when a bomb exploded in a central damascus neighborhood, state media said, and activists reported at least 20 rebels killed in air raid on the northern town of harem.
“it’s the worst-case scenario many feared in syria,” said Fawaz gerges, director of the middle east center at the london school of economics. “it’s an all-out war.”
The fighting in the capital of damascus was some of the worst since July, when rebels took over several neighborhoods, only to be bombed out by regime forces days later. shortly after those battles, rebels moved on syria’s largest city, aleppo, and it has become a major front in the civil war since then.
The attacks on the two main cities have demonstrated new organization and capabilities of rebel forces as well as a determination to press their uprising despite the deaths of more than 36,000 people in almost 20 months of fighting.
w hen syria’s unrest began in march 2011, the country’s halfmillion palestinians struggled to stay on the sidelines. but in recent months, many palestinians started supporting the uprising although they insisted the opposition to the regime should be peaceful.
one faction, the popular Front for the liberation of palestinegeneral command, led by ahmed Jibril, has remained loyal to assad.
The popular committees in the damascus-area palestinian refugee camp of yarmouk, which are led by the pFlp-gc, said the fighting started sunday when residents were attacked by gangs who claimed to include palestinians fighting the government.
“The mercenaries who claim to have palestinians among them” tried to infiltrate the camp but were repulsed by the popular committees, the statement said monday. w hen the rebel attack failed, they fired mortars that killed and wounded several people, it added.
video of the yarmouk fighting that was posted online by activists monday showed destruction around the camp, with shellpocked and scorched vehicles, and shattered windows in apartment buildings as residents picked through debris and shouted in disbelief. The video was consistent with associated press reporting on the fighting in the area.
Associated Press
AP
Syrian citizens evacuate a man injured by a bomb blast in Damascus, Syria, on Nov. 5.
saviors in ohio
Sam Gans sports writer
i think everyone has had experiences that seem dire, but can be looked back at in a better light later in hindsight.
a recent one for me occurred two s aturdays ago. i woke up at 9:30 a.m. to make the hour-and-a-half-long drive to bryan, o hio, just across the border, to renew my license at the bmv before it expired on nov. 19, my 21st birthday (start thinking of birthday gifts now, please).
e verything was going fine. i made it there safely, got my new license and hit the road, ready to head back to notre d ame to watch the i rish beat the s ooners that night.
o f course, nothing ever goes directly according to plan. a bout a half-mile down the road on my way back, my car slowed to a complete stop. i later found out it was a broken fuel pump that caused the problem, but i couldn’t get it fixed at that time because no mechanic was open until monday. s o i was stranded without a car 100 miles east of s outh b end and two and a half hours northwest of my home near c olumbus with nobody nearby to help.
m y dad began the drive to pick me up as my car was towed to a local auto shop. i planned to simply wait out the few hours it would take for him to get there by walking to a restaurant in bryan to grab a meal and watch college football.
b ut in the parking lot of the auto shop, a middle-aged couple, both wearing notre d ame sweatshirts, was dropping one of its cars off to be repaired. o n the spot, they invited me to their home a few miles away to have some food. we had a great conversation about each other’s lives, our families, and, of course, i rish football.
i then helped them move some furniture items they needed transported to a local storage space, and before i knew it, my dad was in bryan, ready to bring me back to notre d ame. o n Friday, one of my friends was able to take me back to bryan so i could pick up my fixed car. it, thankfully, worked well.
a fter all was said and done, i’d wasted about eight total hours of my time — five stuck in bryan on s aturday and three to drive there and back Friday. it also cost almost $600 to fix my car, which is exciting.
b ut at least i was able to get to know some great people, which is what, in my opinion, life is all about. Thanks a lot, b ob and sue. a nd, oh yeah … g o i rish.
Contact Sam Gans at sgans@nd.edu
The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
My race and my rhetoric
Christopher Damian ideas of a university
Few people are aware of the fact that, when notre dame’s p rogram of l iberal studies was founded in 1950, university p resident Fr. John J. c avanaugh intended for the program to eventually take over the entire a rts c ollege. a s the program’s founder, o tto bird, once put it, “such an education aims at paideia.” This paedeia constitutes a kind of general knowledge “that makes not the scientist or specialist, but the fully human person.”
bird identified man in his rational capacity as “a talking, thinking, observing, measuring and worshipping animal. To educate man is to train him in the use of these various faculties so that the faculties can perform their work easily and well. e ducation in this sense ... is initiation into manhood.”
This education, however, must have a context. “man is not only a creature endowed with certain faculties. he is also a creature with a heritage... i n other words, man is born into a tradition, in our case the tradition of western c hristendom, and, if he is to become fully himself, he must be initiated into this tradition. it provides the context for the work of his various faculties.” The g eneral p rogram, as it was known at the time of its founding, sought to cultivate notre dame men in their rational capacity and to initiate them into their cultural heritage, as both c atholics and as members of western c ivilization.
For those of us who value or come from diverse peoples and cultures, such an education may seem jarring
LEttEr to thE Editor
at first. w hen mortimer adler, a friend of p rofessor bird, was asked why he didn’t include any black authors in his list of the great b ooks of the western world, he simply responded, “They didn’t write any good books.”
i n the midst of a ffirmative action debates, we are reminded of past injustices to minority groups in a merica and in western c ivilization. many consider these injustices and call for restitution. r acial and cultural diversity must be actively promoted, because social structures privilege certain majorities. i n an affirmative action culture, minorities will always be at a cultural advantage. i look back on my college application as an excellent example.
my father’s family is from guam. That makes me half c hamorro. i wrote my college application essay about that culture, although, admittedly, i was largely out of touch with that part of my racial heritage. i walked about walking along quiet beach of r ititian, pondering c hamorro legends and the feet of my ancestors that walked in that sand generations before me.
The taotaomona are the ancient c hamorro spirits that protect the jungles against unwanted visitors. Four years ago i wrote, “it wasn’t the power that intrigued me. it was the ancient c hamorros themselves. The sand that i was walking on was the sand that they had once walked on. They once inhabited the caves i had visited.” i provided evidence for the accusations made by those against a ffirmative action: i overemphasized my race in order to get an edge in college admissions.
but can racial heritage be a credential when applying for college? i firmly
Freshmen
reject the notion that racial diversity ought to be increased through a collective societal guilt. This fails to recognize many of the inherent goods that can come from minority cultures: intense family relations and traditions, a connection to the land and its peoples, a link between blood and language, literature, and culture. i am against affirmative action, because i believe that my racial and cultural heritage is a powerful credential on its own. e ach racial heritage has access to intellectual and cultural resources that others ought to admire. i will promote my culture through the excellence of my work. s ome would answer mortimer adler by insisting he include diverse authors for the sake of diversity. i would answer mortimer adler by writing a good book, just as i once hoped, in the end, to write a good college application essay. i concluded this essay with words that couldn’t be written by any other. i hope they are words that could be appreciated both by my ancestors and by p rofessor bird: “now, what do i want from college? i want college to be that walk on the beach. i want to learn about the world and, by learning about the world, learn about myself. i want to be in a place saturated with Truth, waiting for me to discover it in my education and in myself. i want to be in the presence of great people, who will help me develop through the exchange of the intellect. i want an experience i will never forget.”
Christopher Damian is a sophomore. He can be reached at cdamian1@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
rushed it
hey freshmen, you guys did a great job rushing the field on saturday. a fter a win like that, rushing the field was definitely appropriate. a s you all know, the wake Forest game is the last home game of the season. Traditionally, the seniors rush the field after the game since it is their last home game as students. however, since you all are so experienced at rushing the field (having done it twice now, first against a lower-ranked stanford team and then against an unranked p ittsburgh team) we would love it if you rushed the field after the wake Forest game, win or lose. it would certainly add to the atmosphere. unfortunately, you have already used up all of your field-rushes for the year, so this will have to be a senior-only affair.
QuotE of thE dAy
“i f the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
George Washington U.S. president
WEEkLy PoLL
how did you spend your extra hour from daylight savings?
Tweet your response with #ViewpointPoll by 5 p.m. Thursday
Brett Straka senior siegfried hall nov. 5
6 insidE CoLumn
Green loans pay for themselves
There are few things in this world that i like more than free stuff. pens, t-shirts, packs of gum or what ever it may be. if it’s free, i’ll be getting one for me (poetry is one of my many passions).
however, if there is one thing that i like more than free stuff, it’s free green stuff. i’m talking led christmas lights, some fresh new laboratory ovens for my chemistry majors out there and compact fluorescent light bulbs for all. all of these awesome green goodies were brought to you by the green loan Fund. since 2008, money from the green loan Fund has helped purchase the nifty energy dashboard, super computers for the center for research computing and a revolutionary dry-cleaning machine for
saint michael’s, just to name a few. its support has contributed to the conservation of 350,000 gallons per year of water in chemistry department autoclaves, and has replaced 8,950 incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents to date. The fund is a force for good around campus, a force that should be utilized more. sure we have accomplished a lot, but i think we can do more.
The green loan Fund is managed by the office of sustainability and is for students, staff and faculty use. we are talking $2 million dollars waiting to be spent by you to improve your dorms, classrooms and labs. all you have to do is come up with a proposal that will pay for itself in 10 years. Just think, you could replace that fridge that was top-of-the-line back when Tim brown won our last heisman, those dull incandescent christmas lights, or that laboratory
Keep douglas road safe
To the editor:
we live at university v illage, home of notre dame’s graduate student families, and we are stakeholders in this university that we love. notre dame is proposing to expand and reroute douglas road directly in front of where we live. it is very likely that this proposal will be approved by the county.
a fter hearing a presentation from representatives of the university on oct. 9, we had numerous concerns about how the new four-lane highway would affect us. The safety of our families is of primary importance. i n particular, we are concerned about crossing a busy four-lane highway without proper safety measures in place.
on oct. 17, we met with John a ffleck-graves, e xecutive v ice p resident, and e rin hoffman harding, v ice p resident of student a ffairs. a fter assuring us that family housing is a priority for notre dame, they requested specific proposals to diminish the impact of the new road on our community.
The proposal we submitted this week calls for measures to keep vehicle speeds below 35 mph, an important safety threshold, as well as a crosswalk with sufficient safety features.
Further, the proposed road follows a straight line passing about 150 feet from our homes and where our children play. i f the road were more curved, traffic could be naturally slowed and more green space at the v illage could be preserved.
we are currently working with the administration on these and other proposals and we encourage other members of the notre dame community to be aware of, and involved in, this important project that will shape the university’s future for years to come.
Simone and Wes Hamrick graduate students university v illage nov. 5
Angela and Peter Campbell graduate students university v illage nov. 5
equipment that is about as state-of-the-art and efficient as the 1992 Ford bronco your friend drove in high school. you’re probably thinking, “but greenman, loans aren’t free.” well, these green loans aren’t like normal loans. green loan funded projects conserve resources, thus saving money. This money then pays for the loan. Trust me, money is green, and i know green. unlike your student loans, these loans actually pay for themselves. it’s like magic!
sure, we have accomplished a lot. The funded projects are nothing to scoff at. however, i think we can do more, so don’t be afraid to submit an idea. i want to make it rain. i want to see the fund completely distributed by innovative proposals. it’s a new age. notre dame will soon have a new heisman (don’t worry i went out and knocked on a tree) and you deserve a new,
more energy efficient fridge for your dorm. so brainstorm some ideas, email or visit me at the office and take out the best kind of loan, the kind that pays for itself! plus, for a limited time only, every loan comes with a hug from me, The greenman, guaranteed to teach you the meaning of the universe or potentially feel semi-awkward. if that doesn’t motivate you, i don’t know what will!
green Forever, The greenman
Email your predicaments to The GreenMan at askthegreenman@gmail.com and let him answer you with a sustainable twist. The GreenMan will be here every other week to provide you with insights you never knew you were missing out on until now. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Considering contraception
Tomorrow, this country will know who will lead it for the next four years. as we will all enjoy the reprieve from mudslinging that will shortly come, it is imperative that every person at notre dame represent our lady’s university by not just casting a ballot, but also by making an informed, educated decision on who will be granted the title of “commander-in-chief” for the next four years.
reading opposing viewpoint columns that highlight popular blunders by each candidate terrifies me. instead of using one slip-up as a basis for a vote, i urge every member of our community to consider all of the issues at stake in this election. as a female member of the notre dame family who was diagnosed with severe endometriosis six and a half years ago, i am incredibly concerned with the role that women’s reproductive systems have begun to play in politics.
The only known treatment for endometriosis is birth control pills. don’t believe me? Try being diagnosed with it. sure, some women choose to try lifestyle changes and may see moderate improvements, especially if their case is quite mild. however, for most, we go through an often long and frustrating trial period of medications to try to find the right one for our bodies. once you find that medication, you finally feel the freedom to live the way your friends do — free of a pain so severe, it often cannot even be dampened by vicodin.
i am a proud catholic who has chosen to wait until marriage to have sex, yet my birth control prescription has earned me severe judgment from friends, nurses at st. liam’s and fellow residents of my dorm. as i see my reproductive organs being thrown into the election as political ping-pong balls, i have no choice but to urge my fellow students to consider the many dimensions of every issue facing this election.
The first principle of catholic social Teaching is the dignity of the human person. This principle extends beyond the extremely tired topic of abortion and encompasses quality of life. The dignity of the human person guarantees each human in the world a certain quality of life that is considered adequate and fulfilling. providing any other medication that treats disorders and diseases is lauded in this vein.
so why, then, am i judged? w hy am i counting the days until i can go to a doctor who will not chastise me for my medication without knowing the reason it was prescribed? w hy am i alienated daily from a campus that claims to be so intimately tied with catholic social Teaching? in addition to the treatment of endometriosis that birth control pills provide, condoms are widely distributed throughout countries deeply affected by aids and other
sTis to help prevent their continual spread. regardless of the reasons a person has chosen to have sex and regardless of if that person is married, the health benefits of these methods of contraception are factual and indisputable. This is why it thoroughly disgusted me to see people continue to support rick santorum after his comment that contraception “is not okay” and is “a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be.” This view reflects an incredibly savage view of humanity. if the box of condoms for sale in cvs right next to the tampons changes your moral standpoint on sex, then you may not have thought it through very thoroughly in the first place.
making contraception available to all persons (a provision of obamacare) is not a mandate that all persons use contraception. if you want to wait until marriage to have sex and then choose to not use contraception, please go right ahead. no problem with me, or obamacare. if you want to have sex before marriage and use contraception, go right ahead. if you are among the many like me who need contraception to maintain a basic quality of life, by all means, head to the pharmacy.
however, your decision to use or not use contraception does not give you the right to tell others that they too should or should not, especially in the common case that you very likely do not understand the full depth of their decision. i am not sure the exact moment in our society when intimate partner decisions became public, but the complexity and intensely personal nature of these decisions undeniably disqualifies them from broad, misdirected legislation. w hen paul ryan chose to side with santorum on his pro-life and anti-contraception platform, his camp should have immediately lost the votes of those who prefer to make their own health decisions, rather than have someone else make them without knowing your personal circumstances.
This sunday at mass, i urge you to look around. chances are, your glance will rest upon at least one person who is taking birth control pills, at least one who has used a condom and at least one who does not believe in the use of either. each of these people is standing there, in communion with you and Jesus christ, receiving the eucharist as you are, participating as one of god’s children and a member of the human family that works for the good of all. regardless of where you fall in these groups, try to remember that their choices are not one-dimensional. Their choices may have vastly improved their quality of life, so much so as to have allowed them to attend this university and be standing in this mass at the same time as you.
Mary Kakenmaster is a senior. She can be reached at mkakenma@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
The GreenMan a sk the green man
Maggie Kakenmaster guest c olumn
LEttEr to thE Editor
come election season, snl is known to prepare some of the best sketches and impersonations of our different political candidates. here are some of scene’s favorites:
tina fey as sarah Palin
Tina Fey as sarah palin is one of the monumental election satires in recent history. not only was their resemblance uncanny, Fey was also spot on with her accent and mannerisms. surprisingly, this sketch took little writing as it is almost word for word from palin’s actual interview with Katie couric. yikes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= ie - ocd ex y r u
darrell hammond as bill Clinton before he was the secretary of explaining, bill clinton was actually the president and one with a bit of a weight problem at that. like the male oprah, we’ll leave it up to you to decide whether you like your bill skinny or curvy. snl did a great job parodying the president’s fast food habit after he had been seen jogging with reporters to the nearest mcdonalds.
The commercial parody of the “undecided voter” is one of the most watched clips of this election cycle because, as most snl sketches do, it points to a legitimate problem in the electorate using their character wit. “what are the names of the two people running? and be specific.” undecided might just be uninformed.
fred Armisen as President barack obama snl’s Fred armisen as president obama did an excellent job of portraying the cocky president right after the white house announced the death of osama bin laden last may. what is meant to have been a speech on immigration reform quickly turns into obama’s chance to make sure the country knows who’s boss, busting out a cigarette, strutting around stage with a newfound sense of swagger, cracking jokes, and re-establishing himself as the coolest president around. http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/The-situation-room-cold-open/1327352/
By GABRIELA LESKUR scene writer
it’s that time of year again: christmas for the funny bone: the saturday night live (snl) political debates. over the years, snl has made these parodies a staple of america’s comedic diet. Joke-deprived americans come back again and again to see their favorite (and least favorite) political figures mercilessly mocked on live Tv luckily, one can at least have some peace of mind knowing that real politicians would never say such ridiculous things…or would they?
see if you can decipher which of these quotes came from snl skits and which came from the politicians themselves.
“over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the united states. i’ve now been in 57 states, i think — one left to go.” –barack obama on his 2008 campaign trail
SNL or Obama?
“when the president does it, that means it’s not illegal.” –richard nixon
SNL or Nixon?
“i’m not familiar precisely with what i said, but i’ll stand by what i said, whatever it was.” mitt romney
SNL or Romney?
‘’i was recently on a tour of latin america, and the only regret i have was that i didn’t study latin harder in school so i could converse with those people.’’ —dan Quayle,
SNL or Quayle?
‘’i mean, you got the first mainstream african-american who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. i mean, that’s a storybook, man.’’ —vice president Joe biden on barack obama
SNL or Biden?
‘’i think that gay marriage should be between a man and a woman.’’ california gov. arnold schwarzenegger
SNL or Schwarzenegger?
‘’come on! i just answered, like, eight questions.’’—barack obama, exasperated by reporters after a news conference.
SNL or Obama?
“who let the dawgs out? who, who, who?” –mitt romney, on the campaign trail
SNL or Romney?
answer Key: (all of these quotes are from the politicians themselves. snl’s got nothing on our nation’s elected officials!)
Contact Gabriela Leskur at gleskur@nd.edu
president george h w bush’s vice president
Scene Staff Report
Photo courtesy of break.com
Photo courtesy of break.com
By SEAN FITZGERALD
s cene writer
Today is election day. you’re on the fence. w ho should i vote for? if after three debates, throngs of pundits spouting out opinions, and knowledge of each candidate’s stance on the issues, you still don’t know who to vote for, then you are probably in the notre dame bubble. instead of voting for mickey mouse, let us help you decide on a much more superficial level: fashion and style. dark suit, white shirt, red/blue tie, flag lapel pin, and black shoes … w ho are we referring to? every candidate since the invention of color T v probably. so who wears it better? Former massachusetts gov. mitt romney looks comfortable in a suit, which is probably a reflection of his past stint as the ceo of bain capital. a fter four years of seeing president barack obama wearing a suit, it is hard to see him in something other than a suit. in a battle of the stereotypical presidential uniform … it’s a tie. (pun completely unintended.)
The tie-breaker is going to come down to hair. w ho has been applying Just for men: Touch of gray better, is it obama or romney? romney clearly has more experience with his hair follicles. no one knows
quite how he gets his hair to stay in exactly the same spot without a single strand moving, but he gets it done. he has a track record for keeping well-groomed hair and it shows. This stems from his natural age advantage. at the age of 65, he has years of experience over obama in the gray hair arena, but is it enough to trim away enough votes from obama to win the election?
even though obama is only 51 years old, his four years as the president of the united states of a merica look as if it has shaved 15 years off the life of his hair. being in the oval office, day in and day out, filled with stress only made the situation worse. however, despite the fact that obama had to run a country, he somehow found a way to care for that hair of his. obama’s traditional haircut also brings out a clear advantage he has over romney: time. do we want our future president spending countless hours getting his hair just right, or running the country?
a fter all of this hard analysis, we’ve come to the conclusion that what matters is what’s inside their heads and not on top of it. if you’ve come to this article to decide who to vote for, then you probably shouldn’t be voting in the first place.
Contact Sean Fitzgerald at sfitzge3@nd.edu
By CLAIRE STEPHENS scene writer
a fter looking at our presidential candidates’ fashion sense and skills, let’s examine their wives’ style.
Ann romney
despite much talk leading up to the campaign about a nn romney’s role as a stay-at-home mom, a nn has a very professional style. her stylish business casual fashion makes her look like a broadcast journalist, always ready to be on television and looking 15 years younger. a nn often wears bright, fun colors and pastels with the occasional intricate print, keeping her attire both simple and feminine.
a nn also dresses well for her age, sticking to short sleeves or longer and often wearing a colored jacket with a bold statement accessory, like a big necklace, bracelet or watch. she showed off her feminine work look the best at her speech during the republican national convention. The bright, fire engine red oscar de la renta dress fit nicely between the strong, symbolic red of the gop and the more casual, womanly style. a few accessories — a gold watch, gold bracelet, and peep toe black shoes — gave her another splash of style without becoming too frilly or girly. a nd that republican red was driven home by the matching nail polish and lipstick – in case you forgot which side she was on. overall a nn finds colorful, but conservatively cut fabrics with strong accessories that make
her look both professional and approachable.
Four years into the public eye, michelle obama has maintained her style of classic, solid colors and had a chance to show off some more elegant, evening attire in her wardrobe. perhaps the most well known look is the high-necked, bare-shouldered dress with a string of big pearls. like a nn romney, michelle also dresses appropriately for her age, in michelle’s case showcasing her youth while keeping it classy. she’s not afraid to show her arms and a bit of leg without showing too much, venturing more toward today’s changing fashion.
as the first lady there have been many occasions for pretty, feminine, delicate looks in the evening wear department, including some flowing, form fitting dresses with more delicate and detailed accessories like earrings. she has also changed the typical straight bob for some pulled back or curly hair styles for fancier occasions, showcasing her feminine charm as well. she showed off the more youthful, feminine side of style at the democratic national convention, wearing a custom-made Tracey reese dress. The silky rose and gray full-skirted dress flowed beautifully around her knees, with pink pumps to go with the abstract wallpaper print and only small earrings to accessorize. over the past four years michelle has showcased several different styles: from strong, sleeveless and solid to pretty, prints and pink.
michelle obama
commissioners’ power needs limits
Today is one of the most important days of the year.
a ll the build-up, all the anticipation is resolved today because the a merican people will decide who will become or remain their next president, senator, representative and even sheriff. a n election represents the possibility of assessing the incumbent and choosing whether or not someone else may do the job a little better.
w hile there are no true elections in the world of sports, this idea of accountability resonates throughout all aspects of sports. players are held accountable for their play on the field and their actions off of it. coaches and management must answer to the decisions they make during games and in the offseason. everyone in the world of sports faces the prospect of losing their job to someone possibly better suited for the position.
That is, almost everyone. in today’s day and age, commissioners wield a considerable amount of power, but they are not held to the same level of accountability for their decisions. a nd the controversies, scandals and lockouts in the last few years have brought this fact into much greater light. commissioners in the past certainly made mistakes, but in general, they existed in the background by letting the game itself come first. now it seems the commissioners grab the headlines every few weeks, making a significant ruling or stepping in to handle a controversy.
To borrow from the political structure of our nation, there are hardly any checks and balances to the power of the commissioners. Just take a look at three examples of many to prove this fact.
in each of the four leagues, owners appoint the commissioners. a nd since these owners alone can fire the commissioner, there is hardly any way the commissioner will leave town — even if the town is filled with angry players and fans. heck, nba commissioner david stern, nhl commissioner gary bettman and mlb commissioner bud selig have all served since before many of us were brought into this world. in fact, selig plans to stay on as the commissioner until 2014, at which point he will be 80 years old!
a nother abuse of commissioner power came soon after the nba lockout was resolved last year. The lakers and hornets had all but completed a
trade that would have sent chris paul to los a ngeles to team up with Kobe. but in 11th hour, david stern stepped in and vetoed the blockbuster deal. The nba held this power only because they owned the hornets at the time. but does that give stern the power to stop the deal “for basketball reasons,” as was explained by a league spokesman? sure, our president has the ability to veto forms of legislation, but the president at least gives legitimate reasons for his action.
Finally, the nFl commissioner roger goodell highlights the argument that commissioners have excessive unchecked power. between both the player and referee lockouts, his hypocritical stance on player safety (i.e. pushing for an 18-game season while trying to emphasize player safety) and the absolute debacle that is the saint’s bounty case, goodell’s entire tenure reflects a person with too much authority and not enough limits.
Just take a look at the most recent news in the saints’ situation. a s confirmed sunday, the nFl voided sean payton’s contract extension signed in 2011. now, with payton’s status up in the air, goodell is the sole person able to rule on his contract, as the commissioner holds the unilateral right to rule on coaching contracts. a fter how he has handled the entire situation, including passing the case off to former nFl commissioner paul Tagliabue, who can trust his decision on this matter?
a s always, it is easy to criticize, but much harder to provide legitimate solutions. w hile there does not appear to be an easy solution — especially with owners exerting the greatest influence on commissioners — there are some possible remedies. Following a business model, the commissioners could be subject to the scrutiny of a board of directors annually or biannually. The board should include members outside of ownership and player’s unions and could also include the previous commissioner.
perhaps the best solution would be for fans, players and management to elect the commissioner. w hile this is unrealistic, one thing is certain. sports fans everywhere would feel empowered to vote for the sports commissioner of their choosing, just as a mericans everywhere vote today.
Contact Peter Steiner at psteiner@nd.edu
The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Small schools no roadblock for freshmen
By AARON SANT-MILLER and VICKY JACOBSEN sports writers
not every notre dame freshman comes from the same type of high school. still, freshmen sydni meunier and molly seidel are going through a similar experience at notre dame. both runners attended high schools with graduating classes smaller than many freshman intro classes.
“i think that i’ve definitely got a very different perspective coming from a class of 13 [students],” seidel said. “i think i learned, coming from such a small school, how to branch out. you can’t just hang out with the people in your class, you have to kind of get out there and meet people in sports and different activities so you have a wider circle of friends. it kind of taught me to be a little more outgoing.”
For meunier, who graduated in a class of about 75, notre dame presents an opportunity to embrace a more outgoing side and meet new people as well, an experience that wasn’t as salient for her in high school.
“i really like how there’s always opportunities to meet new people here, where at my high school there really wasn’t,” meunier said. “i really like that aspect of it, and that you can be a new person any
nd WomEn’s soCCEr
time you want to.”
in high school, both runners faced similar barriers. meunier’s high school, gibson city melvinsibley in melvin ill., did not have a cross country team. seidel, a graduate of university lake school in delafield, wis., had a cross country team, but not a track team, something she changed in her time there.
“i had to start the track team when i was a freshman, and my first two years it was just me on the team,” seidel said. “it was definitely difficult not having that sort of support, i guess, but it helped me become very independent.”
but for meunier, the small school atmosphere fostered a great deal of support.
“being from a smaller town, everyone always cared about what you were doing,” meunier said.
“The coaches and everyone there was always looking out for every individual just because there wasn’t as many people to keep track of.”
For meunier, this closeness was something she really appreciated in high school and has managed to find at notre dame as well.
“[in high school] everyone had really good relationships with each other.” meunier said. “i think it was really great because everyone supported everyone a lot. [at
notre dame] i live in howard, which is one of the smaller dorms. i think that was perfect for me, coming from a small town. i really like the sense of community and i think that it’s the perfect fit for me.”
still, both runners found their way to notre dame, which turned out to be the ideal size and fit for both of them.
“at first, when i was starting the whole process, i didn’t really care either way about size,” meunier said. “now that i’m here i definitely think the size of notre dame was perfect. it’s bigger, but i really like how there’s such a feeling of community around campus.”
For seidel, the size was a perfect fit as well, allowing for a lot of opportunity to branch out.
“i knew that i wanted to come to a school that definitely had a lot more people than my high school, just to get that opportunity to branch out and get to meet new people,” seidel said. “i think notre dame just seemed like a really great size. it wasn’t too big but still enough people that i was going to get to know a lot of people.”
For both runners, a freshman class of 1,995 students is just right.
Contact Aaron Sant-Miller at asantmil@nd.edu and Vicky Jacobsen at vjacobse@nd.edu
squad earns ncaa bid
Observer Staff Report
no. 20 notre dame earned a berth in the ncaa championship for the 20th consecutive season monday.
The irish (13-5-2, 8-1-1 big east) will begin their quest for the program’s fourth national championship Friday at a lumni stadium against wisconsin-milwaukee. after falling to marquette in the big east semifinals on Friday, notre dame had to rely on an atlarge bid. The panthers (8-8-1, 5-2 horizon) earned an automatic berth by winning a schoolrecord fifth-straight horizon league championship. both teams are unseeded, as the new ncaa championship format only assigns seeds to the top four teams in each of the bracket’s four quadrants.
The irish will enter Friday’s
Junior midfielder Mandy Laddish charges downfield during Notre Dame’s 2-2 tie against Rutgers on Oct. 7.
match boasting a trio of big east all-rookie Team members. defender Katie naughton, forward cari roccaro and forward crystal Thomas all made the team. roccaro also earned the big east rookie of the year award, notre dame’s first since forward melissa henderson took
home the award in 2008. should they advance, the irish will face the winner of saturday’s match between georgia southern and no. 16 wake Forest. notre dame will host the panthers at 7 p.m. Friday at a lumni stadium.
Peter Steiner sports writer
SUZANNA PRATT | The Observer
ramblers
to score in the middle of the game. d onegan was picked off in the endzone by s iegfried freshman s pencer Judd and a b urggraf touchdown pass was called back due to a holding penalty.
The game ultimately came down to who had the final opportunity to score and, after several strong runs by Keough junior running back m ike Fischer, d onegan delivered the winning pass.
b urggraff was disappointed by the result, but expressed excitement for the future of the r amblers’ program.
“ we lose a lot of key guys, but we have a bunch of talented freshmen and sophomores as well,” b urggraf said. “i f we practice hard, we’ll definitely be one of the better teams
next year.”
Keough’s resurgence continued with the win, allowing the perennial underdogs a shot at playing in notre d ame s tadium.
“it’s amazing,” m agiera said. “There’s so much energy around Keough football.”
no. 1 s orin will provide Keough’s next test s unday at 2:15 p.m. at l a b ar Field.
Contact Casey Karnes at wkarnes@nd.edu
k nott 14, f isher 0
By KIT LOUGHRAN s ports w riter
i n a matchup between staunch defenses and solid rushing offenses, no. 3
Knott notched a 14-0 victory over no. 6 Fisher in s unday’s quarterfinals.
Knott’s defense, which
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allowed just 20 points during the regular season, shut down the g reen wave (3-2).
“o ur defense played unbelievably and really dominated the game,” Knott freshman receiver g riffin c arroll said.
i n the first half, the Juggerknotts (4-1) and the g reen wave both failed to put any points on the board.
a t the beginning of the second quarter, Fisher recovered a Knott fumble, but the Juggerknotts later atoned for their error at the end of the half with an interception at the goal line to prevent a Fisher touchdown.
i n the second half, Knott took control of the game.
“ we played really well in the second half,” c arroll said. “o ur offense and defense dominated.”
o n the first drive of the third quarter, Knott sophomore quarterback d avid Taiclet handed the ball off to junior running back Joe mc g illicudy, who scampered in from five yards out to give the Juggerknotts a 7-0 lead.
The Fisher offense, led by junior quarterback Joe p aggi, focused on its rushing attack. p aggi racked up more than 50 rushing yards on the ground and, with the help of junior running back r icky neville, the g reen wave offense moved the ball throughout the second half, though they failed to put any points on the board.
w ith three minutes left in
Pangborn
it to the s tadium,” g allagher said.
p angborn will take the next step toward the championship game when it meets n o. 2 m c g linn in s unday’s semifinal round.
Contact Alex Stembaugh at astembau@nd.edu
m cGlinn 20, b adin 0
By ALEX STEMBAUGH s ports w riter
n o. 2 m c g linn played up to its seed s unday, eliminating n o. 7 b adin 20-0 in a battle of contrasting styles.
a ppearing in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, defending champions m c g linn (6-1) started strong and never looked back. a lthough the s hamrock of-
the fourth quarter, Knott began its last drive of the game
“Our defense played unbelievably and really dominated the game.”
Griffin Carroll Knott freshman
with a 10-yard run by sophomore running back m ike r otar. a fter a few more runs, the Juggerknotts were positioned at the 10-yard line.
Taiclet again handed off to r otar, who rushed the ball
numerous tackles, and connected on touchdown passes to several different receivers, including seniors Katie r itter and c aitlin d ay.
The s hamrock defense, however, stole the show, as it forced two interceptions and a turnover on downs at its own 20-yard line and did not allow the b ullfrogs to put points on the board.
“ we had to make some adjustments on defense because their offense wasn’t like anything we had seen before,” b adin senior captain m argaret b ellon said.
“ we practiced some, but not enough on defense to get ready for their really mobile quarterback.”.
a ppearing in their first playoff game in three seasons, the b ullfrogs (2-5) were without their starting quarterback, so junior s arah Fleming and senior
“We had to make some adjustments on defense because their offense wasn’t like anything we had seen before.”
Margaret Bellon Badin senior
fense was penalty-ridden, it proved successful in moving the ball down the field.
m c g linn senior quarterback
e mily g olden racked up rushing yards, as she broke
Tommasina d omel shared time at the position.
“ we were getting into it at the end, but it was just too little too late,” b ellon said. “ we just had to do the best in our
straight up the middle for Knott’s second touchdown of the game.
w ith less than two minutes left in the game, Fisher made a comeback attempt but several incomplete passes plagued the offense.
“o ur pass game just never really got going,” Fisher senior captain and offensive lineman m att h art said. “ we ran the ball really well, but our passing game really hurt us.” Knott will face no. 2 Keenan in the semifinals s unday at 1 p.m. on l a b ar Field.
Contact Kit Loughran at kloughr1@nd.edu
situation, and we couldn’t have led a better team.”
a lthough b adin’s season is over, b ellon said she was proud of her team’s accomplishments.
“This is the first time b adin has been in the playoffs for
“We just have to keep doing what we’re doing, keep playing hard and really keep playing as a team.”
Emma Collis McGlinn sophomore
a while, and we’re proud of that since we’re such a small dorm,” b ellon said.
m eanwhile, m c g linn moves on in its quest to win a second consecutive championship. m c g linn sophomore running back e mma c ollis said she the team effort of the s hamrocks was crucial to their first round playoff victory.
“ we did well, and everyone contributed,” c ollis said. “ we just have to keep doing what we’re doing, keep playing hard and really keep playing as a team.”
m c g linn will face n o. 6 p angborn in s unday’s semifinal round.
Contact Alex Stembaugh at astembau@nd.edu
STEPHANIE LEUNG | The Observer
The Knott offense lines up against Morrissey during its contest Oct. 7. Knott advanced to the semifinals Sunday.
ourselves on our defense, and we came out against a really good d illon team that we lost to in the championship last year and shut them down, so we feel pretty good about it.”
s orin will head to the semifinals and look to extend its winning streak against no. 4 Keough at 2:15 pm sunday at l a bar Field.
Contact Mary Green at mgreen8@nd.edu.
keenan 14, Alumni 7
By SAMANTHA ZUBA sports writer
a dramatic touchdown and a timely interception made all the difference in no. 2 Keenan’s 14-7 victory over no. 7 a lumni on sunday.
The Knights (4-0-1) and dawgs (3-2) traded punts before Keenan pulled ahead with an electric 75-yard touchdown pass hauled in by junior receiver Jeremy r iche. before the play, Keenan and a lumni had played stifling defense, batting away passes and keeping each other off balance on offense. Keenan senior captain and quarterback a ndrew mcdonough credited the defense for setting up the
touchdown, which set the tone for the game.
“The defense did a good job,” mcdonough said. “They got two stops to start us off on the right foot. [ r iche] is a good receiver, and he ran a great route.”
The touchdown forced the dawgs to battle from behind early. but Keenan pushed the score to 14-0 on a 15-yard pass to freshman receiver a aron d ig enova, and a lumni failed to score in the first half.
l ate in the fourth quarter, however, the dawgs started to make a comeback. a lumni scored on a halfback pass to sophomore r yan buckley. a lumni’s defense then forced Keenan into a quick three-andout and got the ball back with a minute left to play.
The dawgs then drove into the red zone with a sevenyard scramble by junior quarterback w ill c ronin, but the next pass was intercepted by Keenan senior defensive end a lex green. The interception sealed the Knights’ victory and earned them a berth in the semifinals.
mcdonough said Keenan was pleased with the win and is already looking forward to its next challenge against Knott.
“First let me say that a lumni is a great team,” mcdonough said. “They played a great
game. we’re excited to play Knott next week, and we know that will be another hard-hitting game.”
a lumni junior captain Tom o’sullivan said that despite the loss, he is proud of a lumni’s season and is looking forward to next year.
“ we had a great season,” o’sullivan said. “i’m proud of how we battled back in this game. we came up a little short, but we have a lot of guys returning, and i’m excited about next year.”
Keenan will face no. 3 Knott in the semifinals sunday at 1 pm on l a bar Field.
Contact Samantha Zuba at szuba@nd.edu
keough 13, s iegfried 6
By CASEY KARNES sports writer
no. 4 Keough’s magical season continues as it squeaked by no. 5 siegfried 13-6 sunday. both teams scored on their opening drives, but what seemed like a potential shootout soon turned into a defensive battle. The game remained tied at six until Keough junior quarterback s eamus donegan threw the game-winning, sixyard touchdown pass with under 30 seconds left.
“[ o n the last drive] we kind
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of stuck with the plays that had been working in the second half, our bread and butter,” Keough sophomore offensive lineman and captain c harlie magiera said. “ we knew we had to get it together, and just keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
Keough (4-0-1) had previously scored on a 46-yard pass by donegan on its first drive, and the Kangaroos kept up a solid mix of passing and running all game. d onegan finished with over 150 yards through the air. however, siegfried (3-2) quickly matched Keough’s first score as the r amblers bullied their way down the field. s enior running back david w hitmore
tallied most of the yards, but it was sophomore quarterback nate burggraf who dove over the pylon for the game-tying touchdown.
The r amblers were unable to return to the end zone, however, because of a stifling Keough defense led by senior linebackers a ndy heck and robby Toole.
“ we played well, but [Keough] started blitzing their linebackers and stopping the run,” burggraf said. “They just played well, so hats off to them.”
both teams missed chances
STEPHANIE LEUNG | The Observer
The Keenan offensive line squares up against Stanford during a game Oct. 7. Keenan will take on Knott on Sunday.
Weasels
a fter both teams traded interceptions, r yan marched to p asquerilla west’s eight-yard line, but its drive stalled, and the game headed to overtime.
d espite the second-half adversity, s chmitt said her team never doubted themselves.
“ we never got down on ourselves,” s chmitt said. “ we were just looking to do what
“We never got down on ourselves ... We were just looking to do what we needed to do and it got done.”
Meghan Schmitt
we needed to do and got it done.”
The p urple weasels needed two plays to find the end zone in overtime, as v idal rushed for her third touchdown of the day to put p asquerilla west up 19-12.
The w ildcats needed a touchdown to extend overtime, but an incomplete pass on fourth and goal from the one-yard line sealed r yan’s fate.
“ we expected all along that it would be a really competitive game, since we knew we could play with the best teams, and overall, i think this was a great season,” p illai said.
s chmitt said the ugly win
showed a lot about her team.
“a lot of people thought we were given an easy bracket, that we had things handed to us,” s chmitt said. “b ut today we showed a lot of fight, and this game just showed when it gets tight we can fight to stay alive.”
p asquerilla west advances to the semifinal round and will play no. 4 walsh on s unday at 4 pm on l a b ar Field.
Contact Alex Wilcox at awilcox1@nd.edu
Walsh 12 Welsh f amily 7
By GREG HADLEY s ports w riter
i n a close contest, no. 4 walsh pulled out a 12-7 victory over no. 5 welsh Family on s unday.
b oth teams relied on a passheavy attack and mixed in runs by their quarterbacks. i n the end, a 25-yard run by walsh senior quarterback Kat l each, coupled with a penalty for unnecessary roughness, set up the game-winning score for the w ild women (52). l each completed nine of her 15 passes and threw for two touchdowns, one of them to senior receiver s hannon Fleming.
The w hirlwinds (4-3) were able to move the ball effectively through the air, as senior quarterback v ictoria moreno completed 10-of-15 passes. i n the end, however, moreno connected on only one touchdown pass, finding
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senior receiver Kirsten g roody in the end zone.
The first half was a defensive showdown, as both defenses kept the offenses in check, and the game was scoreless at halftime.
o n the first drive in the second half, walsh broke through, scoring on l each’s touchdown pass. The w hirlwinds countered with a long drive of their own, kept alive by several third down conversions, which resulted in their sole score of the day.
a fter the w ild women scored again to retake the lead, welsh Family tried to rally, but the w hirlwinds turned the ball over after some confusion about the correct down.
“e veryone on our sideline was sure it was third down,” g roody said of the play. “it
“It’s sad as a senior ... It’s still sinking in that it’s all over. Still, overall, we actually played well.”
Kirsten Groody Welsh Family senior
was hard because we came out expecting third down, our play call was for third down and then all of a sudden it was fourth.”
o n the opposite side of the field, walsh senior cornerback l indy navarre had a different perspective.
“penalties and close calls were a big part of this game,” navarre said. “not everything went our way. we just didn’t let stuff like that affect us.”
w hile walsh survives to remain in the playoffs, welsh Family’s season is over.
“it’s sad as a senior,” g roody said. “it’s still sinking in that it’s all over. still, overall, we actually played well.”
navarre said her team’s performance bodes well for it as it continues through the playoffs.
“ we were a very balanced team today,” navarre said. “b oth offense and defense stepped up when we needed it. we’re going to need that going forward.”
walsh will play no. 1 p asquerilla west in the semifinals s unday.
Contact Greg Hadley at ghadley@nd.edu
Pangborn 18, Cavanaugh 12
By ALEX STEMBAUGH s ports w riter
i n a game filled with heart and intensity down to the very end, no. 6 p angborn eked out an 18-12 victory over no. 3 c avanaugh in double overtime s unday.
“This game was really exciting,” p angborn freshman receiver m ary g allagher said. “c oming in, i knew it was a really big game for the seniors. we all wanted to play well since it could be their last game.”
b oth teams got off to slow starts, as suffocating defensive pressure on both sides stifled the offenses in a scoreless first half.
The second half opened on a different note, as p angborn (5-2) rushed for a touchdown from 12 yards out on its first possession. c avanaugh senior quarterback rosemary Kelly answered back with a burst through the p angborn defensive line and a 60-yard run to tie the game. The c haos (5-2) mounted a final drive but they were stopped on the
three-yard line as regulation time expired.
i n the first overtime, p angborn sophomore quarterback c aitlin g argan connected on a 10-yard pass to g allagher for a touchdown.
“Coming in, I knew it was a really big game for the seniors. We all wanted to play well since it could be their last game.”
Mary Gallagher Pangborn freshman
The c haos responded with a three-yard touchdown run by Kelly to tie the game again.
The c haos got the ball to start the second overtime, but p angborn sophomore safety a ndrea h awkins intercepted Kelly’s first pass. The p hoxes converted their opportunity, as g argan made another pass to g allagher for the gamewinning touchdown.
Kelly said the c haos took the close, season-ending loss pretty hard.
“ we played our hearts out tonight,” she said.
d espite the defeat, Kelly said she was pleased with the positives of c avanaugh’s season.
“This group is a lot more dynamic than in years past,” Kelly said. “i njuries in the middle of the season took our whole receiving line out, but our underclassmen really stepped up, so there is hope for our program … This game really showed the strength of our intramural program. a s intense as we get, in the end it’s not just about the dorm rivalries. w hat matters is playing your hardest, even if you lose. a lower seed can beat an upper seed any day.”
p angborn’s celebration will be short-lived, as the focus shifts to its game next week. “ we’re looking forward to it, and hopefully we can make
JOHN NING| The Observer
Welsh Family senior quarterback Kirsten Groody attempts to escape McGlinn defenders during their contest Oct. 1.
Pasquerilla West senior
a few other schools but ultimately i knew notre d ame was the right fit for me.” h odan has fit into the i rish lineup as the only freshman to see time this year. h aving played in all 18 of the sea -
h odan has had the benefit of playing alongside a corps of experienced players.
“They’ve been a big help,” he said of the upperclassmen. “They’ve taught me how to play to the style of n otre d ame and they’ve also been very supportive and talked to me on the field
“[The upperclassmen have] been a big help. ... They’ve taught me how to play to the style of Notre Dame and they’ve also been very supportive and talked to me on the field and made sure I am where I am supposed to be on the field.”
son’s contests, h odan has made one start. w ith only two sophomores — midfielder n ick b esler and defender m ax l achowecki — having made starts this year,
Champions
calendar. The irish opened the season against then-no. 21 duke and also squared off with no. 2 a kron. notre dame handed the Zips their only loss of the season in a 3-1 victory sept. 9.
The irish are battle-tested and battle-ready, thanks to a forward-thinking approach from clark. The 12th-year coach emphasizes improving against the best competition as opposed to padding the resume with blowout wins over inferior teams.
They’re built when you emerge from a grueling set of road matches against top-25 teams both with success and room for improvement. in an eightday span the irish faced no. 12 louisville, no. 22 indiana and no. 6 connecticut all away from the comfy confines of a lumni stadium, where notre dame went 8-0. The result was an imperfect 1-2 mark, but the irish have improved and are currently riding a 6-1-1 streak since the loss to connecticut on sept. 29.
They’re built when you learn to overcome adversity. notre dame suffered the same devastation twice when senior co-captain and midfielder michael rose tore his acl in the preseason, mere weeks before senior midfielder adam mena went down with the same injury in the season-opener. but the irish have responded with stellar efforts from players from all classes. seniors like midfielder dillon powers, defender grant van de casteele, forward ryan Finley and goalie will walsh have provided leadership and production. Juniors such as forward harry shipp, goalie patrick wall and defenders luke mishu and a ndrew o’malley have been stout. sophomore defender max lachowecki and sophomore midfielder nick besler have started all 18 games after barely playing as freshmen. speaking of rookie seasons, freshman midfielder/forward patrick
e ast championships, when he delivered two goals and one assist in n otre d ame’s 4-2 victory over s yracuse. a fter scoring his first collegiate goal in a 2-0 win over m ichigan s tate on s ept. 14, h odan has become an important piece of an i rish offense that ranks sixth in the nation with 2.44 goals per game.
n ow only one game away from the b ig e ast title game, h odan and the i rish will travel to h arrison, n .J., to face top-seeded c onnecticut on Friday for the right to battle for conference hardware.
and made sure i am where i am supposed to be on the field.”
h odan was in all the right places s aturday in the quarterfinals of the b ig
hodan has appeared in every game and is second on the team with six goals and 17 points.
They’re built when you perform exceptionally when the spotlight is brightest. The irish needed a win against then-no.
3 marquette on oct. 24 in the penultimate regular season game. The golden eagles led 1-0 at halftime, but notre dame charged back by netting three goals in less than seven minutes to defeat another robust opponent.
They’re built when you piece together a dominant defense. The irish were inexperienced along the backline after the graduations of aaron maund, greg Klazura and michael Knapp. but van de casteele, mishu, o’malley and lachowecki have jelled in front of walsh and wall to form a defense that has held opposing teams to zero or one goal in 13 of 18 games. walsh and wall have each made nine starts and
“ w e are all very excited but we are taking it one game at a time and right now we are focused on c onnecticut,” h odan said.
s poken like a true veteran.
Contact Joseph Monardo at jmonardo@nd.edu
allowed just eight goals apiece and three members of the back four — van de casteele, mishu and lachowecki — have started every game and contributed two key goals.
They’re built when you embrace a game-by-game approach, which the irish have done at the behest of clark. such a mindset is critical in the postseason, when each game is win or go home, when each game is the most important to date.
championship teams are built beginning at the end of the last season and through the ncaa tournament.
The irish have been on the assembly line the whole year and are now ready just in time for the real test: the ncaa tournament.
Contact Mike Monaco at jmonaco@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
SARAH O’CONNOR | The Observer Freshman midfielder Patrick Hodan, center, goes up for a header during Notre Dame’s 3-1 home win over Akron on Sept. 9.
Patrick Hodan freshman midfielder/forward
Across 1Course in the biology dept.
5Prize won by Obama and Carter
10Pickle containers
14Rogen of “Knocked Up”
15Strong adhesive
16Black cloud or black cat, to some
17Do-it-yourselfer’s activity
19Spanish sparkling wine
20Came next
21Compares (to)
23 With 51-Across, nitpick … or a hint to 17-, 37and 60-Across
25Affirmatives
26 Turns down
29Last word of “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow”
31Altogether it’s worth the most bonus troops in Risk
32Giraffe’s cousin
34Snowmobile part
37New York singing group that last performed in 2007
41It’s “the word”
42Ability
43Digital camera mode
44 Reminder of an old wound
45Tot’s enclosure
48Suffix with Kafka or Zola
51See 23-Across
52Come together
55Preparing to drive, with “up”
59Half-pint
60 Forum cheer
62 Govt. meatstamping org.
63 What “O” stands for in the magazine business
64 Knock for a loop
65Son of John and Yoko
66“GoodFellas” Oscar winner Joe
67 Gulp from a flask
Down
1___ Stadium (Big Apple tennis locale)
2Vegas gas
3Dinero dispensers
4Bar habitué’s order, maybe 5Replaceable part of a phonograph
6Antonym: Abbr.
7 Blowhard’s claim
8 Interstate sign
9Vega’s constellation 10Big name in underwear 11Pile up
12 Show with skits
13 Alternatives to buttons
18 Contract negotiators, for short 22Critic of the selfless
24 Weathercaster’s pressure line
26Chicago mayor
Emanuel
27Jacob’s twin
28Unwilling to budge
29Place for a facial
30 Short albums, for short
33“___-Tiki”
34 With 57-Down, memorable “Seinfeld” character, with “the”
| chrisTopher brucKer
35Charlie Brown toy that’s often “eaten” by a tree
36Steel component
38Show host
39___ culpa
40TV’s Clampetts, e.g.
44 Mideast bigwig
46Nutlike Chinese fruit
47 Two-dimensional measure
48 Hosiery shades
49Drunk
50 Post-lecture session, informally
51 Ones named in a will
53 Woodworking or metalworking class
54Superman costume part
56“Vidi,” translated
57See 34-Down
58Pitcher Maddux with four Cy Young Awards
61Fond du ___, Wis.
For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554.
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LoWEr your ExPECtAtions | rago & paTricK cross
CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Kevin Jonas, 25; Tatum o’neal, 49; bryan adams, 53; art garfunkel, 71.
Happy Birthday: put creativity and effort into your domestic life. make a move or fix up your digs. encourage harmony in your home and with the people you love most. attitude will determine what you achieve and how well you are received. change is within reach if you quickly take care of pending legal and financial matters. your numbers are 4, 9, 13, 25, 29, 33, 41.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): getting involved in activities or events that interest you will broaden your plans for future development. love is in the stars. enhancing the relationship you are in or looking for love at networking or community events will be fruitful.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): don’t allow personal issues to interfere with your productivity. Focus on what’s expected of you. don’t lose sight of the long-term effects you will have on those you work with if you don’t pull your weight.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): get involved in an organization or an event that brings you in contact with interesting people who share similar goals. Think outside the box and contribute your ideas in order to reach a much larger audience or goal. love is highlighted.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): older and younger people may cause problems, but if you set rules and timelines to be met, you will keep everyone moving along and accomplish what you set out to do. consistency coupled with creativity will bring good results.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): don’t worry too much about what others do, say or think. you can expect to feel stifled at home and in your personal life if you cannot find a way to step away from your responsibilities and enjoy socializing with friends.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): put pressure where needed in order to reach your goals. don’t put up with anyone who is irresponsible or overreacting to a situation that needs to be dealt with swiftly. excess is the enemy, so keep your life and what you do simple and manageable.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): you cannot control every situation you face, but you can opt to say “no” to anyone who puts you in an awkward situation. communication, travel and expanding your knowledge and interests will lead to an interesting connection and proposal.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Take a serious look at where you are personally and professionally and make a decision that will help push you closer to your goals. look for an unusual way to market or develop an idea you have. discipline will pay off.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): make improvements at home that will help ease your stress and improve your lifestyle. don’t let your temper be what stands between you and someone or something you need in order to excel. compromise will be necessary.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): discuss issues you have with partners, colleagues or someone who has something unique to contribute to your plans. advancement will be yours if you show your strengths and your ability to work without supervision.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): don’t judge others, or you will end up being judged. it’s important to show discipline, but at the same time, enjoy what’s being offered. a commitment or contract will lead to prospects that will provide you with additional perks.
PISCES (Feb. 19- March 20): calm down and enjoy life. Taking on too much or being excessive in any way will limit what you are capable of obtaining. an imaginative plan coupled with a little determination will result in greater cooperation and good results.
Birthday Baby: you are versatile, creative and serious. you are an explorer.
JumbLE | david hoyT and JeFF KnureK
sudoku | The mepham group
hiGhLy PunLikELy
Puzzle by Kristian House
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE
mEn’s soCCEr
Irish get ready for Big East semifinals
Freshman aids experienced squad
By JOSEPH MONARDO s ports w riter
o n a team buoyed by veteran leadership and dominated by experienced players, i rish freshman midfielder
p atrick hodan has found a spot among the upperclassmen. a fter helping propel no. 5 notre d ame to the conference semifinals s aturday, hodan’s spot on monday was the same as that occupied by most freshmen: the one carrying the equipment.
not exempt from the universal rookie duties, the youngster from b rookfield, w isc., has six goals and five assists on the season and is second among all i rish players with 17 points.
hodan’s success in his rookie campaign can largely be attributed to the talent around him, the freshman said.
“it’s pretty easy when you have the players around like we do,” he said. “i mean, we have such great players [and] each person is able to do their job.”
i n his senior season at m arquette university h igh s chool, hodan scored a school-record 45 goals and contributed 10 assists, numbers that earned him recognition as a national s occer
WomEn’s intErhALL
c oaches a ssociation of a merica a ll-a merican and the 2012 g atorade w isconsin p layer of the year. h aving carried into notre d ame (143-1, 5-2-1 b ig e ast) such accolades, among others, hodan said he has improved significantly this season.
“it’s been a fun year and i’ve been able to better myself in practice and learn from the upperclassmen,” he said. “i think i have improved in almost all the areas. The
coaching staff and everyone else on the team has helped me improve as a player.”
however, the transition into college soccer is not without its difficulties, hodan said.
“There is a pretty big transition from high school into college,” he said. “The speed of play is a lot faster and people are a lot stronger so you have to get used to the pace of the game and just develop and adapt.”
mEn’s intErhALL
a lthough he grew up in the vicinity of m arquette, hodan did not consider becoming a g olden e agle. w hile he did consider other schools, hodan said he was confident in his final decision to come join the i rish.
“i was very excited to come to notre d ame because of the academics and athletics and just the atmosphere of notre d ame,” he said. “i looked at
hodan PAGE 14
Irish en route to Championship win
They are blueprinted in the summer, manufactured throughout the preseason and the regular season, fine-tuned in the conference tournament and tested in the ncaa tournament. championship teams are built through months of assembly, and the irish are ready to prove they have one.
it’s not easy to construct a championship-caliber team, but notre dame (14-3-1, 5-2-1 big east) has done so.
They’re built when you score 44 goals during the season, the second-highest total under irish coach bobby clark. Four of those goals came in the highstakes big east championship quarterfinal saturday against syracuse on the road. Ten more of those goals came during a pivotal two-game stretch during which the irish battled a pair of conference opponents at a lumni stadium. notre dame punished pittsburgh with a 7-1 dismantling oct. 3 in a possible trap game before downing thenno. 3 georgetown 3-0 just three days later.
They’re built when you couple a never-ending gauntlet of top non-conference opponents with the rigors of the big east
champions PAGE 14
Otters dominate Big Red weasels advance to semifinals
By ALEX WILCOX sports writer
no. 8 r yan pushed no.
1 p asquerilla west to the brink sunday, but the p urple weasels survived the test, defeating the w ildcats 19-12 in overtime.
r yan came ready to play, scoring on its second drive of the game on a nine-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback m aya p illai to senior receiver a my Jurvis. r yan’s fast start caught p asquerilla west (7-0) offguard, p urple weasels senior captain meghan s chmitt said. “it definitely was a fight all the way through.” s chmitt said. “ we say we’re always ready for anything, but we did not expect this much of a
challenge from them.”
d espite its early struggles, p asquerilla west remained resilient. a fter giving up the first touchdown to r yan (4-3), the p urple weasels defense shut down the r yan offense for the rest of the first half, aided by two sacks by s chmitt. a n 11-yard touchdown run by p asquerilla west sophomore quarterback l auren v idal late in the first half tied the game at six.
a fter r yan went up 12-6 midway through the second half, p asquerilla west got the ball back and promptly marched down the field on a seven-play, 60-yard drive that ended in v idal’s second touchdown run and tied the game.
By MARY GREEN sports writer
i n the past two seasons, no. 1 s orin and no. 8 d illon have met at notre dame stadium in the championship game, splitting the series with one win apiece. This year, they faced off earlier in the postseason, and the o tters (5-0) took home the 14-0 victory sunday to keep their undefeated season alive.
b oth defenses held strong in the first quarter, but the big red (2-3) blinked first in the second stanza, giving up an 11-yard rushing touchdown and subsequent two-point conversion to s orin senior captain and running back r yan robinson. The o tters led 8-0 going into halftime, a manageable deficit for a d illon team missing three defensive starters, d illon junior
captain and quarterback Kevin Fink said.
“i thought we came out and played really physical,” Fink said. “ we had guys playing in positions for the first time this year, but they came out and did it, playing hard and playing until the final whistle.”
mental blunders were the story of the second half as both teams fumbled on their first possessions and s orin was whistled for three penalties in a single drive. o ne of those infractions called back a touchdown, the second time an o tters mistake took points off the board.
“[ we need to work on] mental mistakes,” robinson said. “ we made a lot of dumb penalties and turned the ball over, but we answered really well from those, so we’re happy about that.”
The o tters rebounded from
those errors, scoring a second touchdown on a 23-yard pass from senior quarterback Ted spinelli to robinson to take a 14-0 lead.
w ith less than five minutes remaining in the game, d illon’s comeback attempt ended with an interception by s orin freshman linebacker g alvin l oughran.
“[The interception] really put us in a bad position, so the loss falls on me,” Fink said. “ we had some opportunities, but at the end of the day, s orin is a great football team.”
robinson contributed 118 total yards of offense to lead his squad into the semifinals, and he said the o tters feel confident after keeping the big red off the scoreboard.
“[This shutout] is big,”
JULIE HERDER | The Observer
Senior midfielder Dillon Powers tries to get past a Pittsburgh defender during Notre Dame’s 7-1 win over the Panthers on Oct. 3 at Alumni Stadium.
Mike Monaco sports writer
august 11, 2012
paul ryan, house budget chairmain, named mitt romney’s vice presidential candidate.
august 27 - 30, 2012
romney and ryan nominated as president and Vice president, respectively, at the 2012 republican national convention in Tampa, Florida.
september 3 - 6, 2012
obama and biden nominated as president and Vice president, respectively, at the 2012 democratic national convention in charlotte, n c
oCtober 3, 2012
First presidential debate at university of denver in denver, colo.
oCtober 11, 2012
Vice presidential debate at centre college in danville, Ky.
oCtober 16, 2012
second presidential debate at hofstra university in hempstead, n y
oCtober 22, 2012
Third presidential debate at lynn university in boca raton, Fla.
NoVember 6, 2012 election day
deCember 17, 2012
electoral college formally elects president and Vice president.
JaNuary 20, 2013 Inauguration day
Early voters play role in presidential, local elections
Associated Press
columbus, ohio — ever urgent as the clock ran down, barack obama's and mitt romney's teams pressed voters monday to get to the polls while thousands who were already there waited in long lines for their final chance to avoid the election day crush.
"I thought I'd come today to beat the rush tomorrow," 24-yearold britnee luke, a romney supporter from columbus, ohio, said in a line where she had stood for more than an hour monday morning. "oh, well."
That line — more than 1,000 murmuring voters winding in a maze through a former department store on columbus' west side — was just one of the many scenes where some of the 2012 presidential campaign's final acts were playing out across the country.
For a race viewed as neck-andneck nationally, that transition from a focus on early votes to the arduous final task of mobilizing millions for election day is meaningful. a lthough the campaigns have prepared for both phases of voting, obama is viewed as having the early-vote edge overall while romney's team is confident it will receive more election day votes.
ohio is a particularly pivotal state for both candidates. Virginia, Florida and Iowa are crucial, too, and volunteers
scoured neighborhoods and looked for stragglers they might convert.
The lines in the former Kohl's store moved at a healthy clip, although most voters who arrived by 9 a.m. esT didn't walk out into the traffic-snarled parking lot for at least an hour. John l audeman shuffled along, looking up at the ceiling in boredom: "I'm trying not to think about it."
w hile it was all business in columbus, in cleveland the atmosphere was festive. music blared across the street from the county elections board office. hot dog vendors, campaign button sellers, even the rev. Jesse Jackson sought to woo the crowd. The line curled around the corner until the early voting deadline arrived at 2 p.m., when security turned away latecomers.
deVonte a nthony, a student at cuyahoga community college and an obama backer, fought the traffic and a snarled parking lot near the elections board to vote early with five family members. "we all came out today so we don't have to wait in line tomorrow."
more than 30 million people had already voted in 34 states and the district of columbia, either by mail or in person. both candidates were staging last-minute events in ohio, urging voters in person — and in obama's case, with rocker bruce springsteen — to vote.
Indiana republicans fight for ‘red’ seat in senate
Senate seat may be only hope for Democrats in Hoosier State as tight race between Mourdock, Donnelly ends
Associated Press
I ndI anapol Is — republicans working to move Indiana firmly back into the land of red states after its 2008 support of democrat barack obama hope to have plenty to celebrate Tuesday, but a u s s enate seat that has been a lock for the gop for nearly four decades could be the night’s spoiler.
p residential candidate m itt romney and gubernatorial hopeful m ike pence are heavily favored to win, and the gop is looking for more success down the ballot — including a possible supermajority in the Indiana house, which would allow republicans to conduct business without any democrats present.
but the hotly contested u s s enate race between tea partybacked state Treasurer r ichard mourdock and democratic rep.
Joe donnelly could provide a stinging upset for the party while granting democrats a rare foothold in this conservative m idwestern state.
The race, which had been a statistical dead heat, was turned on its heels when
mourdock stated during a televised oct. 23 debate that pregnancy resulting from rape is “something g od intended.”
democrats have pounced on the comments, using them to shore up their arguments that mourdock is an extremist who will reject bipartisanship.
mourdock, who has criticized donnelly for votes on issues ranging from the auto industry bailouts to the federal health care overhaul, has tried to move past the furor over the comments even as democrats have worked to keep them front and center of the final days of the campaign.
“I’m feeling fantastic. a ll reports from around the state are very positive as far as voter turnout, republicans are very excited,” mourdock said monday while greeting diners at the First watch restaurant in Indianapolis.
“ we’re thrilled at the message of getting this economy turned around and being the 51st vote to repeal obamacare,” he said.
despite Friday’s howey/ depauw poll that showed him up 11 percentage points, donnelly took a more cautious
approach during an appearance monday with former u s s en. evan bayh and congressional candidate s cott reske at a democratic campaign office in Fishers.
donnelly beamed as bayh sang his praises, but he demurred when asked how confident he was of victory.
“I run every race like I’m 10 points behind,” he said.
The s enate race — which saw more than $25 million spent on ads by outside groups and the campaigns — has largely overshadowed Indiana’s other races, which include all nine congressional seats, 25 state s enate seats and all 100 house seats. but that race brought national attention to a state that otherwise might have been overlooked as the presidential campaigns bypassed Indiana in favor of battleground states such as ohio.
obama’s slim victory over then-contender John mc c ain in 2008 now appears to have been a fluke more than a sea change. obama was the first democrat to win the state since lyndon Johnson in 1964, but romney appears poised for a potential double-digit victory.
Indiana republican party c hairman e ric holcomb said monday he’s counting on a good showing Tuesday, but he is still fighting as though democrats could make gains.
“ we want to make sure we don’t put the cart in front of the horse,” holcomb said. “I suspect it’s going to be a good night
for republicans and a good night for hoosier taxpayers.”
obama’s 2008 state chairman, Kip Tew, blamed the president’s performance in Indiana this year on factors ranging from the sluggish economy to republican g ov. m itch daniels, who took credit for jobs saved through federal aid.
AP
Republican senatorial candidate Richard Mourdock addresses his supporters at a rally in Indianapolis on May 8.
SARA SHOEMAKE | The Observer
SMC students attend Obama rally in Ohio
By ANNA BOARINI news writer
e arly monday morning, most s aint m ary’s students were getting ready for class or sleeping in. s eniors c allie brown, p aige d aniel, Karla moreno and l ondon l amar were headed to o hio to see p resident b arack obama speak at nationwide a rena in c olumbus.The students found out about the rally from a friend’s Facebook post.
“ we went to the website and researched the tickets,” l amar said. “This was a decision literally made at 12:30 at night.”
l amar said the group each received a ticket to the rally after signing up online. They headed to ohio at 6 a.m. monday morning.
“ w hen we first got there, we were so excited and didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “The line to get in was like a mile long and we didn’t think we were going to get in.”
a ccording to the website for the nationwide a rena,
the structure can hold about 20,000 people for a concert. l amar said there were about 18,000 people who showed up to hear obama speak. “ we ended up having frontrow seats in our section,” she said.
a long with the president and music stars, c olumbus m ayor m ichael b c oleman and d emocratic s enator sherrod brown of o hio spoke at the rally.
a fter a break, bruce springsteen and Jay-Z performed, and then the president spoke.
“bruce springsteen had nothing but good things to say about the president,” she said. “he first campaigned for him in 2008 and said he is a great person. [ springsteen] advocates for [ obama].”
springsteen performed a few songs, and sang a song he wrote about the campaign, l amar said.
a fter springsteen, l amar said Jay-Z “rocked the house.”“he rapped about six
or seven songs,” she said. “he rapped his song ‘e ncore’ and said it was for another four years for obama.”
l amar said Jay-Z parodied one of his own songs for the campaign’s benefit. “he rocked the house and sang his song ‘99 p roblems, but he said ‘I got 99 problems and m itt [ romney] ain’t one,’” she said, laughing.
Finally, obama took the stage, l amar said. a ccording to the a ssociated p ress, obama said about the performers: “They tell the story of what our country is, but also of what it should be and what it can be.”
“he talked about his policies, how he will continue to advocate for education and how everyone deserves a fair chance at education,” l amar said. “The president talked about how in different states there are different opportunities and struggles. he got the crowd riled up.”
l amar said obama stressed everyone should go out and
vote on e lection d ay.
a fter seeing him in person, l amar said obama looked very strong going into the election.
“he looked very confident,” she said. “There were thousands of [people from] o hio
at the rally … It was pretty much full and he is leading in o hio. [ l amar and her friends] are hoping for the best.”
Contact Anna Boarini at aboari01@saintmarys.edu
congress projected to remain divided
Associated Press
wash I ng T on — a barrage of negative ads, more than $2 billion in spending and endless campaign stops all come down to this: a mericans likely will elect a c ongress as divided as the one they’ve been ranting about for two years.
In Tuesday’s voting, r epublicans are poised to hold the 435-seat h ouse, with d emocrats expected to gain a small handful of seats at best from roughly 60 competitive races but fall well short of the net 25 needed for the majority. h ouse s peaker John b oehner, r- o hio, is poised to wield the gavel again.
s enate d emocrats are likely to maintain their narrow advantage as two r epublican candidates’ clumsy comments about rape and abortion could cost the gop Indiana and dampens its prospects of winning m issouri — two major roadblocks in the r epublican path to the majority.
r epublicans hoped the math would work in their favor — d emocrats are defending 23 seats, the gop 10 — but solid d emocratic recruits and the close presidential race, added to the gop candidate stumbles may ensure that n evada s en. h arry r eid remains majority leader.
“That’s extremely frustrating for what everyone thought was a r epublican advantage,” r on b onjean, a r epublican consultant and former top c apitol h ill aide, said of the developments in Indiana and m issouri.
n o matter who wins the presidency — p resident b arack o bama or r epublican
m itt r omney — the nation’s chief executive will be dealing with a c ongress no closer to bridging the ideological chasm and showing no inclination to end the months of dysfunction. Tea party numbers are certain to tick up in the s enate with r epublican Ted c ruz heavily favored in Texas and d eb Fischer looking to grab the n ebraska seat.
In the h ouse, the movement that propelled the gop to the majority in 2010 will be even more emboldened even if a few of the big-name tea partiers lose.
s al r usso, head of the Tea p arty e xpress, likened the group to the anti-Vietnam war movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s that he said remade the d emocratic p arty. h e envisions the same with the gop
“In the sense that the antiwar movement brought out millions of people that had not been involved in politics and they became engaged in a material way,” r usso said in an interview as he headed to what he expects will be a victory party for c ruz in Texas.
The d emocratic p arty, he insists, has never been the same and neither will the gop after the influx of tea partiers.
w hen the s enate votes are counted, moderate r epublicans and d emocrats from m assachusetts and m ontana could be gone, leaving the chamber with just a handful of the lawmakers
inclined to reach across the aisle. r epublican s en. o lympia s nowe of m aine decided to retire earlier this year, frustrated with the partisan gridlock in c ongress.
n ew e ngland’s three other gop senators are n ew h ampshire’s Kelly ayotte, m aine’s s usan c ollins and m assachusetts’ s cott b rown, now an underdog against d emocrat e lizabeth warren in a race for the late s en. e dward m . Kennedy’s seat.
“The few r epublicans who are in office in n ew e ngland are an endangered species,” said veteran d emocratic strategist d an p ayne, who is working for independent a ngus King. “Their party has shifted so far to the right.”
King is favored to win the three-way race for s nowe’s seat.
a b loomberg poll in s eptember found that 55 percent of a mericans said c ongress will continue to be an impediment no matter who is elected president. Just 32 percent said c ongress would get the message and work together.
d emocratic strategist s teve m c m ahon said he worries that with a divided c ongress “we can probably expect hyper partisanship and gridlock everywhere. It seems like a mericans can expect more of the same.”
The other certainty is neither o bama nor r omney will have much of a mandate based on the razor-thin presidential race and the likelihood that the majority party in the s enate will be
nowhere near a filibusterproof majority.
“ n either candidate will be able to claim that voters endorsed a clear and specific plan for balancing the budget because neither of them offered such a plan,” said John J. p itney, a professor of a merican politics at c laremont m cKenna c ollege.
r epublican strategist Terry h olt said a newly elected president who has the will could put their mark on policy and make some significant changes.
“ b ut there is so much ideological division that you will have to risk your political life to get something done in the next c ongress,” h olt said. “It is an all-or-nothing proposition by virtue of the divided nature of the country. you have to stick your neck out if you’re to get anything done.” weeks before the January
inauguration, c ongress will have to decide what to do about a $607 billion so-called fiscal cliff: the combination of expiring b ush-era tax cuts and automatic, across-theboard spending reductions to domestic and defense programs. e conomists warn that no action will plunge the country into another recession.
“a t the end of the day, you have so many ticking time bombs,” said gop strategist John Feehery. “ h aving just a complete gridlock is not an acceptable solution.”
c ongress may decide in the lame-duck session to delay the major decisions to early next year, especially if r omney wins the presidency. b ut they can’t put off economic decisions for too long.
“The road to fiscal perdition is a cul-de-sac,” p itney said.
President Barack Obama is joined on stage by musicians Jay-Z and Bruce Springsteen during a rally in Columbus, Ohio on Monday.
Speaker of the House John Boehner speaks in Washington on Sept. 21. Republicans are expected to remain in the majority in the House.
International students weigh in
By NICOLE MICHELS news writer
as america turns its focus inward for the upcoming presidential election, the rest of the world has its eyes trained on america. notre dame’s international community bridges the gap between national and international students, balancing values developed at home with priorities studied during a young adulthood spent abroad.
senior lucas de la Fuente, originally from santiago, chile, said the election issues are discussed differently within and outside of the united states.
“during the debates they always talked about the role of the u s. as the main power of the world, and how to maintain that image,” de la Fuente said. “For me, that’s a totally conflicting point — maybe because I come from a smaller country, a foreign country with a totally conflicting approach: how do we improve ourselves while staying in dialogue with those around us? This is a huge shift, that the candidates took for granted in every speech.” a lthough he understands other segments of the catholic church disagree, de la Fuente said his experiences at his holy cross high school contributed to much of his political beliefs.
“For me it’s a logical position to be in favor of the socially disadvantaged, the discriminated, in whatever way,” de la Fuente said. “That’s catholicism — I understand people don’t think of it this way but that’s my approach to it.” de la Fuente said the chilean electorate expresses its opinions much more fiercely than its american counterpart.
“The student bodies [of the universities] are directly politicized, and on a college level way more leftist — with a political opinion beyond the university’s … students themselves are not as directly related with politics here,” de la Fuente said.
sophomore martin penovi orjales said he has citizenship in the u s., Italy and argentina, but that the strongest political influences in his life originate from his home in argentina.
orjales said he is surprised by the strength of the two-party system within the united states.
“one thing that is extremely different is that here you only have two major political parties — any other party that springs up is eaten up and taken into the two bigger parties after two or three years,” orjales said. “In argentina it is very easy to start a political party … we have a lot of parties in argentina, I don’t know the number.”
orjales said hisvote was swayed by the action in each of the debates.
“one of the major issues that I noticed was that obama seems to be more the kind of candidate
who would be willing to step down from a lot of things, whereas romney has been really hard to pinpoint. That’s one thing that bothered me,” orjales said. “In the first debate [romney] absolutely dominated obama, but then in the next debate romney went back on a lot of things he said and obama really took a step up he really showed who he was in the second and third debates.”
Junior wilm Kranz, originally from wetter, nordrheinwestfalen, germany and also a u s. citizen, said his european upbringing has determined his political priorities.
“oftentimes I’m stuck between the political theory of my home country and the political theory of the united states,” Kranz said. “It’s something that I try to balance out – each has its advantages and disadvantages.”
navigating between them is all about balance, Kranz said. Kranz said his dual citizenship allows him to vote in both countries, and he would use his vote to encourage this balance.
“I think in terms of conservatism, germany has something to learn from america: I think I would vote for a more conservative agenda in europe,” Kranz said. “even so, I would probably vote for a more liberal agenda in the united states.”
Junior nan lan, originally from canton, guangdong, china, said she has been most struck this election season by the different levels of political engagement in china and the united states.
“It’s actually election season in china right now, but we just don’t care,” lan said. “we already knew who would be the next president of china five years ago.”
The definitions between different political ideologies are very different in the u s. and china, lan said.
“I went to a very liberal high school in china, but after I came here I realized that liberal in china means merely ‘hey I talk about politics and I sometimes say I hate the communist party,’” lan said. “on one hand, we are all supposed to be communists anyway, on the other hand, when everything is censored you don’t want to be too outspoken.”
lan said american patriotism starkly contrasts with the sentiments of many chinese.
“one thing I am really jealous of all you american folks here is how patriotic you are — I hate to say this, but I really cannot care less about politics in china,” lan said. “now, I have realized this patriotism is largely due to democracy. w hen you feel you are a part of something, your point of view matters, you naturally feel the responsibility behind it, and this responsibility transforms to love.”
Contact Nicole Michels at nmichels@nd.edu
Study abroad participants vote from overseas
By ANN MARIE JAKUBOWSKI news writer
w hile most a mericans watched the presidential debates from their couches at home and followed live news coverage of the election this season, junior danielle dorrego has watched the 2012 campaigns unfold from across the pond.
dorrego is one of a host of notre dame students studying abroad this semester, and she has faced the challenges of balancing immersion in a new culture with a civic desire to stay informed about the political debates at stake in this election.
w hile it is difficult to stay politically informed while abroad, dorrego said it is still possible to make becoming an educated voter a priority.
“For the most part, I’ve been able to follow the presidential debates and the issues that I found important,” said dorrego. “w hile not necessarily in real time due to the time difference, I’ve been able to watch the debates from my home in l ondon thanks to the Internet. Finding the time to do so can get somewhat tricky, but if it’s something that is important to you, as it is in my case, it’s not too difficult.”
dorrego said it is interesting to watch the election develop from a distance, with the perspective of another country’s media coverage.
“I have noticed that the u.s. presidential election is a very hot topic in british media,” dorrego said. “many different publications have covered election news in detail, explaining the positions and policies of each candidate and giving future predictions of this election’s worldwide effects.”
Junior Victoria Kay, who is spending the semester in Toledo, spain, said she has not been able to follow the election as closely as she would have liked.
“I have only followed the
elections minimally since I’ve been abroad,” Kay said. “ It’s hard to keep up unless I make a concerted effort to read articles online. I was able to stream the second presidential debate online in between my classes, so that was a quick and helpful way to get information from the two candidates.
“I have been limited in my ability to discuss the election with other a merican voters, however — I would have liked to have had more conversations with my parents and friends without the distance and large gap in time zones.”
Kay also said the international interest in this election has changed the way she thinks about the voting process.
“studying abroad in spain has inevitably given me a larger worldview, though I have only been here for a couple months, and this has impacted my thought process as I was making a decision about my vote,” Kay said. “I have learned a lot about politics and society in spain, and the differences I have found between here and the u s. are astounding.”
Kay said her host family’s interest in her vote was strong enough to make her uncomfortable at times.
“my host mom has asked me about what I think about the elections as well as about what my family at home thinks and she even asked me who I voted for in the end,” Kay said.
“I found that a little unnerving because I can’t quite tell whom they would prefer to be our next president and I didn’t want to put a political rift between us.”
Kay’s host family listens to radio shows that discuss the election, and her history professor has said spaniards like to be very informed about what is going on everywhere in the world, she said.
“my professor mentioned that most spaniards prefer p resident obama because he is more open-minded in international relations, so I found that
to be a very interesting opinion,” Kay said. “he suggested that in comparison [to the spaniards], most a mericans seem to be very uninformed in matters of international news.”
both dorrego and Kay submitted absentee ballots from their respective countries, and this is the first election in which both are eligible to vote.
“a lthough I am abroad, I think it is important that my voice is heard,” dorrego said. “The logistics of the [voting] process were more annoying than anything else — for instance, I had to mail in my ballot before the last presidential debate occurred in order to ensure that it would arrive on time.”
Kay also said the absentee ballot process was a “nuisance” but worth the effort.
“I used the website that was emailed to the study abroad students through oIs, so I simply had to enter my name, state, and county of residence and it directed me to the pages I needed to print and mail into the headquarters of my county back home in order to submit my absentee ballot,” Kay said. “I opted to receive my ballot via email because I was afraid it wouldn’t be mailed to me in time. This, however, meant I had to fax it back to the u s which cost me a pretty penny because the fax rates from here to the u s. are very expensive.” This logistical challenge was not nearly enough to deter Kay from participating in her first presidential election, she said.
“I debated not casting my vote because it was too expensive, but then I realized it was ‘vale la pena’ as we say here in spain, ‘It was worth it,’” she said. “I figured the 18 precious euros spent on submitting my vote was more valuable than spending them on more frivolous things such as gelato or those boots I’ve been eyeing.”
Contact Ann Marie Jakubowski at ajakubo1@nd.edu
Linda Sharp sorts absentee ballots that came in by mail at the Black Hawk County Election Office in Waterloo, Iowa, on Nov. 3.
